The Olathe Police Department introduced its school resource officers for the 2026-2027 school year, posting a video on Aug. 12, that names the officers assigned to eight USD 233 buildings. The timing was deliberate: the announcement landed two days before Aug. 14, the first full day of classes for all students in grades K-12.

Eight schools got officers.

The department's post on X tagged Olathe East High School, Olathe West High School, the Kansas School for the Deaf, Old Town Middle School, Prairie Trail Middle School, California Trail Middle School, Santa Fe Trail Middle School and Clearwater Trail Middle School. The same video, posted on Facebook, had drawn 54,000 views and 750 reactions as of Aug. 14.

Olathe Public Schools is the second-largest district in Kansas, serving nearly 28,000 students across 58 attendance centers, according to the district's website. A half day for grades K-5, sixth graders and ninth graders took place Aug. 13. Early Childhood students begin Aug. 17.

Nationally recognized program

The school resource officer (SRO) program, led by Police Chief Mike Butaud, earned national recognition earlier this year. On April 30, the department was named one of 11 agencies nationwide to receive the 2026 Model SRO Agency Award from the National Association of School Resource Officers, as KCTV5 reported. The award goes to departments that exemplify NASRO's training, policies and standards.

Newly assigned officers complete Basic SRO Training that covers balancing three roles defined by NASRO's "triad concept": law enforcement officer, public safety educator and informal counselor. That training element was cited in the award recognition, according to KCTV5.

Individual officer names and their specific school assignments are shown in the video but were not listed in the text of the social media posts. Families can view the full introduction on the Olathe Police Department's Facebook page or on X at @OlathePolice.