Chapter 109:2-18 Continuing Professional Training for Peace Officers and Troopers

(A) As used in rules 109:2-18-01 to 109:2-18-07 of the Administrative Code, “Peace Officer” has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the Revised Code.

(B) “Trooper” means an individual appointed as a state highway patrol trooper under section 5503.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) “Appointing Authority” means any agency or entity that appoints a peace officer or trooper.

(D) “Public Appointing Authority” means any agency that appoints a peace officer as defined in divisions (A)(1), (A)(3) to (A)(8)(m), (A)(10), (A)(12), (A)(13), (A)(15) to (A)(18), and (A)(19) of the Revised Code and the Ohio state highway patrol.

(E) “Responsible Agency” means the appointing authority charged with the responsibility for documenting the peace officer or trooper’s training.

(F) “Commission” means the Ohio peace officer training commission.

(G) “Executive Director” means the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission.

(H) “Continuing Professional Training” means the training prescribed by sections 109.802 and 109.803 of the Revised Code.

(I) “OHLEG” means the Ohio law enforcement gateway.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803

(A) Every appointing authority shall require each of its appointed peace officers and troopers to complete up to twenty-four hours of continuing professional training each calendar year.

(B) The commission shall set the required minimum number of hours based upon the availability of funding for reimbursement. If no funding is available for reimbursement, continuing professional training shall not be required that year.

(C) Newly certified peace officers shall be exempt from continuing professional training requirements for the calendar year in which the peace officer completed peace officer basic training. Newly commissioned troopers shall be exempt from continuing professional training requirements for the calendar year in which the trooper completed the highway patrol cadet training program. Otherwise, a peace officer who receives a new appointment before July first shall complete the required number of hours of continuing professional training during the balance of that calendar year. A peace officer who receives a new appointment on or after July first is not required to complete continuing professional training for that calendar year.

(D) The executive director may extend the time for completion of the continuing professional training requirements upon written request from the appointing authority. Such request shall contain an explanation of the emergency circumstances which created the need for the extension. The application shall set forth the name of the peace officer or trooper for whom the extension is requested, the emergency circumstances, including documentation, for which the extension is requested, and the date on which the request was submitted to the commission. Factors which may be considered in granting or denying such requests include, but are not limited to, serious illness of the individual or an immediate family member, prolonged military service, or an unreasonable shortage of manpower within the appointing agency. Based upon the emergency circumstances in any given case, the executive director may extend the required completion date. Extensions shall be for ninety days, absent a finding by the executive director that special circumstances exist for a longer extension.

(E) The executive director shall either grant or deny the request for extension within thirty days after the date on which the request was submitted to the commission. The executive director shall send written notice of the decision to the appointing authority.

(F) In the event a peace officer or trooper is appointed by more than one agency, the agency responsible for documenting the training and eligibility for reimbursement shall be determined by order of priority as follows: (1) paid full-time, (2) paid part-time, and (3) unpaid. In the event a peace officer or trooper holds appointments of equal priority, the agency by which the peace officer or trooper was first appointed shall be the agency responsible for documenting the training and eligiblity.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73; 109.75; 109.802; 109.803

(A) The requirements set forth herein are intended as minimum qualifications for continuing professional training. Appointing authorities are encouraged to exceed these minimum standards whenever possible. Continuing professional training shall be conducted in a program approved by the executive director and shall address matters directly related to the duties and responsibilities of a peace officer or trooper. The training shall serve a recognized law enforcement purpose and shall have significant intellectual or practical content, the primary objective of which shall be to improve a participant’s professional competence as peace officer or trooper. In addition, such training shall meet or exceed the following minimum requirements:

(1) Other than training conducted via E-OPOTA or other online training program pre-approved by the executive director, continuing professional training programs shall be conducted with a written, formal lesson plan. Such lesson plan shall be typewritten and shall contain, at a minimum, a list of stated goals and objectives for the training, a description of the material to be covered, a bibliography of references, and a list of necessary teaching aids. Lesson plans developed by the commission for continuing professional training will be made available online through OHLEG. These lesson plans will be formatted such that they may be customized locally. Each year, the executive director will provide new lesson plans representing no less than the required minimum number of hours of continuing professional training, and the Ohio peace officer training commission will provide at least that many hours of online continuing professional training via E-OPOTA.

(2) Other than training conducted via E-OPOTA or other online training program pre-approved by the executive director, the training shall be conducted in a setting that is safe, physically suited to the educational activity, and conducive to effective learning. Classroom space shall have adequate heating, lighting, ventilation, and restroom facilities; a chalkboard, whiteboard, or equivalent; tables and chairs suitable for writing; audio visual equipment; a lectern, stand, or table for the instructor’s use; and be relatively free from external distractions. Physical skills training shall be conducted in a gymnasium or large indoor area with appropriate training and safety equipment. Firearms training shall be conducted only on commission approved ranges or ranges approved by the appointing authority for annual in-service firearms re-qualification.

(3) Other than training conducted via E-OPOTA or other online training program pre-approved by the executive director, the training shall be conducted in blocks of no less than one hour, where fifty minutes of actual instruction or other approved training activity constitutes one credit hour. Officers shall be approved provided at least one ten minute break each hour and at least one thirty-minute break every four hours.

(4) The training shall be conducted only by instructors who meet at least one of the following three criteria:

(a) The individual has five years of full-time law enforcement experience and meets at least one of the following criteria:

(i) The individual is a commission-certified peace officer basic training instructor; or

(ii) The individual has, at a minimum, a four-year college degree; or

(iii) The individual has completed an instructional skills course approved by the executive director; or

(iv) The individual is a licensed or certified trainer.

(b) The individual is a certified or licensed professional and is providing instruction in a subject area directly related to the field for which the individual is certified or licensed.

(c) The individual or training program is pre-approved by the executive director.

(5) Appointing authorities may submit proposed lesson plans for prior review and approval by the executive director.

(B) Individuals who are commission-certified instructors and who have allowed such certification to lapse and are not otherwise qualified to teach continuing professional training under this rule, have had such certification revoked, or whose certification is under suspension, shall not qualify to teach continuing professional training. Decisions of the executive director with respect to instructor qualifications are subject to the appeals process in Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(C) Continuing professional training does not include annual in-service firearms re-qualification pursuant to section 109.801 of the Revised Code, nor does it include any form of training elsewhere mandated for peace officers by the general assembly or the attorney general.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803

(A) Every appointed peace officer or trooper is required to comply with the annual continuing professional training requirements set forth herein. Only public appointing authorities qualify for reimbursement for the cost of continuing professional training programs.

(B) Public appointing authorities entitled to reimbursement for each appointed peace officer or trooper who successfully completes the training program shall be reimbursed in an amount no less than twenty dollars per hour per officer per year.

(C) To qualify for reimbursement, the public appointing authority shall:

(1) Comply with the annual roster reporting requirements of division (B) of section 109.76 of the Revised Code; and

(2) Verify all its appointed peace officers or troopers have complied with the annual in-service firearms re-qualification requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code to the extent they are subject to that section; and

(3) Verify all its appointed peace officers have complied with the training requirements of paragraph (D) of rule 109:2-1-12 of the Administrative Code; and

(4) Verify all it peace officers or troopers have complied with the annual continuing professional training requirements set forth in sections 109.802 and 109.803 of the Revised Code.

(D) Each application for reimbursement or extension shall be made in a manner prescribed by the executive director on a form prescribed by the executive director, and supported by documentation required by rule 109:2-18-05 of the Administrative Code.

(E) If a public appointing authority applies for reimbursement and if one or more of its appointed peace officers or troopers has not complied with the continuing professional training requirement but has received an extension of time from the executive director by which to complete the training, both of the following apply:

(1) The public appointing authority is entitled to reimbursement for every other appointed peace officer or trooper of the public appointing authority who has complied with the continuing professional training requirements.

(2) If the appointed peace officer or trooper whom the executive director granted an extension complied with the continuing professional training requirements prior to the date on which the extension ends, the public appointing authority is entitled to reimbursement for the training programs completed by that peace officer or trooper.

(F) Failure to report compliance with the continuing professional training requirements set forth in paragraph (C) of rule 109:2-18-04 of the Administrative Code by January thirty-first will result in a forfeiture of the appointed authority’s eligibility for reimbursement.

(G) Each public appointing authority that receives funds under this section shall keep those funds separate from any other funds of the appointing authority and shall use those funds only for applying the cost of continuing professional training programs.

(H) The decisions of the executive director are subject to the appeals process of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803

(A) Appointing authorities are required to maintain records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the minimum requirements set forth in rules 109:2-18-01 to 109:2-18-07 of the Administrative Code. For training conducted by the appointing authority, such records shall include, at a minimum, copies of the lesson plans and sign-in sheets. For all other training, records shall include certificates of successful completion. All such records shall be kept on file by the appointing authority in accordance with the appointing authority’s records retention schedule, but in no event should the records be retained less than three years. The records shall be made available to the executive director for inspection upon request.

(B) Each appointing authority is required to report compliance in a manner prescribed by the executive director. To qualify for credit and reimbursement, training records must be updated no later than thirty days following the completion of training.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803

(A) Pursuant to division (B) of section 109.803 of the Revised Code, any peace officer or trooper who, in any calendar year, fails to comply with the continuing professional training requirements set forth in paragraphs 109:2-18-01 to 109:2-18-07 of the Administrative Code shall cease carrying a firearm and shall cease performing the functions of a peace officer or trooper until such time as evidence of compliance is filed with the executive director. This rule does not apply to peace officers or troopers for whom an extension of time has been granted by the executive director.

(B) Appointing authorities will receive reimbursement upon certification that the requirements of rule 109:2-18-04 of the Administrative Code have been met.

(C) The decisions of the executive director are subject to the appeals process of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803

(A) Funding for the reimbursement of continuing professional training may come from a variety of funding sources. As funding sources change over time, the reimbursement requirements may change to reflect the focus of the funding source. No later than October fifteen of each year, the executive director shall notify the appointing authorities, in writing, of the training and reimbursement requirements for the upcoming calendar year.

Effective: 10/12/2007

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 10/12/2012

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 109.802

Rule Amplifies: 109.73, 109.75, 109.802, 109.803