S4394-119

What This Bill Does

The Promoting Police Leadership Act would add a command-level training framework to the COPS statute. Within 180 days of enactment, the Attorney General must develop or identify effective curricula on leadership, critical incidents, risk management, officer wellness, data-driven policing, evidence-based decisions and community trust. Within 180 days after the curricula are developed or identified, the Attorney General must establish processes to certify qualifying programs and terminate certification for programs that do not meet the standards, and develop educational-partnership criteria. The bill does not require every officer to enroll or make federal course certification a replacement for a State policing license.

Who Benefits and How

State and local police command officers and Tribal command officers are covered by the command-level personnel definition, which focuses on officers overseeing operations in a geographic subunit. Participating officers could gain practical leadership skills through primarily in-person instruction, peer learning, a feedback-based problem-solving project and pre-course and post-course assessments. Law-enforcement agencies and the communities they serve could benefit if better command decisions follow. Training providers can seek federal program certification, including for pre-existing equivalent courses, while universities have consultation and collaboration roles. Officer organizations and fraternal associations gain an expressly named role in curriculum consultation under the Senate substitute.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Justice bears curriculum, certification, educational-partnership, public-list and congressional reporting duties. Training providers seeking certification must satisfy standards and collaborate with educational institutions; noncompliant programs can lose certification. Participating command officers must complete the practical project and assessments built into the curriculum. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must review implementation within three years. There is no specified new appropriation, tuition reimbursement, grant award or staffing mandate. State and local governments, including Peace Officer Standards and Training bodies, retain their certification, training and qualification authority.

Key Provisions

• Requires curricula within 180 days covering seven leadership and management topics, primarily in-person and peer learning, an implementable problem-solving project and before-and-after assessments.
• Requires a course-certification and termination process plus educational-partnership criteria within 180 days after curriculum development or identification; equivalent and existing courses may qualify.
• Requires a public list within one year after completion of the curriculum and certification activities, showing State and local agencies with successful participants, total officer counts and trained-officer counts.
• Requires Attorney General reports beginning within two years and annually through year three on curriculum work, available assessments, improvements and implementation barriers, plus GAO review within three years.
• Protects State and local certification and qualification standards from federal preemption or replacement by this Act.