As students across Acadiana enjoy the last month of summer vacation, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office is preparing to go back to school.
KATC's Chris Welty was at Prairie Elementary to find out what the deputies were doing.
The school resource officers and the SWAT team are practicing tactical moves and minor medical response. They say it's crucial to train in schools to prepare for any threat on campus.
The deputies moved through the school, running multiple scenarios. Their weapons were drawn, but not loaded, for this training exercise.
"Safety is what our school resources officers are here for and really all of law enforcement. We want those SROs in our schools protecting our students, protecting our kids so keeping them fully trained is absolutely crucial," says LPSO Communications Assistant Valerie Ponseti.
One of the moves they practice is clearing buildings and classrooms, and what to do if there is a medical emergency.
"They're actually learning how to administer that medical aid to themselves as well as if they find a teacher, a student, a fellow deputy who is injured...they'll be able to assist with those medical needs until more first responders arrive," Ponseti said.
Deputies not only train throughout the summer at different campuses, they train year-round so they're read to respond immediately. Instructors keep a watchful eye to make sure the exercises are carried out as planned.
"After, they want to talk about it and say you did this very well, you could do this better so when the time comes and they need to use these techniques, they are confident. We want to be confident in their ability that they're going to do things the right way and that they're going to protect our students," Ponseti said.
In Lafayette Parish, there are resource officers assigned to 46 school campuses.
The first day of school is August 15.
