North Reading's Dyana Boutwell Named To State Commission

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) has appointed North Reading resident Dyana Boutwell to serve on a commission that will develop statewide standards governing the use of police as resource officers in Massachusetts’ public schools.

Created as part of the 2020 policing reform law, the Model School Resource Officer Memorandum of Understanding Review Commission will establish and periodically update the minimum requirements that must be followed when schools and police departments partner to use school resource officers. In developing these guidelines, the commission must strive to ensure that they “achieve the district’s educational and school safety goals” and will “help maintain a positive school environment for all students.”

Boutwell is one of 22 members serving on the commission, which is being co-chaired by Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley and Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) Secretary Thomas Turco. First elected to the North Reading School Committee in 2018, Boutwell is also the mother of two young children enrolled in the town’s public school system.

“As both a parent and a School Committee member, Dyana has always prioritized school safety issues,” said Representative Jones. “I am confident she will play an active role on the commission as it works to develop and implement minimum standards for overseeing the use of school resource officers.”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity and feel confident that I will be able to add a valued perspective as the commission works towards its objective," said Boutwell.

The commission has a deadline of February 1, 2022 to develop its first model memorandum of understanding so it can be implemented beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will make the final document publicly available and will distribute it to local school districts. Working in consultation with DESE, EOPSS will also provide communities with statements of operating procedures and advisories on how to establish a local memorandum of understanding.

Following the development of its initial model memorandum of understanding, the commission will be required to meet every five years to review the document and to make any necessary revisions.