Wyo. Code R. 015-0009-8
Peace Officers Standards & Training Commission
Chapter 8: Minimum Standards for School & Training Programs
Effective Date: 05/09/1994 to 05/20/2002
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 015.0009.8.05091994
Section 1. Certification of Schools. With the approval of the commission, the director shall certify, pursuant to W.S.9-1703(b)(ii), those schools or academies deemed adequate to effectively teach one or more of the prescribed courses identified by the commission. The identity of each school so certified shall be periodically published and distributed by the commission.
(a) Approval of a school or academy will be made on the basis of an on-site inspection conducted by the director or a representative of the commission, with or without the advanced notice to the school or academy.
(b) A request for approval of a school or academy will be made in writing to the director by the school or academy director.
(c) The inspection of a school or academy must be conducted within thirty (30) days of receipt of the request by the director.
(d) Approval or disapproval of the school or academy will be furnished in writing by the director to the school or academy director within thirty (30) days of receipt of the request by the director or within ten (10) days after an on-site inspection, whichever is later.
(e) In the event approval of a school or academy is denied, a written appeal may be made within thirty (30) days of the date of notification by the director. Appeals will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.
(f) Certificates of approval of a school or academy shall continue in effect until surrendered, revoked, or suspended, except as otherwise provided by these rules.
(g) Approval of a school or academy offering a one-time law enforcement training effort shall be for a specific course and shall be issued for a definite period of time, not to exceed one (1) year. An extension of approval for such a course of instruction will be considered by the commission upon receipt of a written application.
(h) Certification may be revoked by action of the commission, pursuant to W.S.9-1-703(b)(ii), whenever a school or academy is deemed inadequate or no longer presents certified courses. In such event, the sponsoring school or academy and the head of each department whose trainees participate in the school shall be notified by the commission. The school may be recertified by the commission when it deems that the deficiencies have been corrected.
(a) The supervisor of each law enforcement unit may submit to the commission a proposed plan setting forth recommended changes in the basic training curriculum. The proposed plan may be used by the commission in drafting or revising certification and accreditation requirements. The decision of the commission to adopt or reject any proposed plan shall be final and shall not be subject to review.
(b) Any college, state or local law enforcement unit desiring to establish a commission mandated training program shall make written application to the director. Copies of approved curriculum may be obtained from the director.
(a) Each program must be certified by the director. There shall be four general areas to be considered by the director before certifying any program:
(i) Curricula. The training curricula for a law enforcement mandated courses with an approved number of hours by the commission of scheduled classroom instruction. All training programs offering peace officer training shall satisfy the qualifications and standards promulgated by the commission;
(ii) Instructor(s). Instructors in approved police training must meet the minimum qualifications as to training and experience, provided by Chapter 7 of these rules;
(iii) Training Aids. Training aids for peace officer training should be provided to supplement classroom instruction;
(iv) Facilities. The general requirements for training facilities include, where applicable, adequate space for offices, storage, classrooms, and dormitories; adequate lighting for training areas; adequate classroom acoustics; adequate restrooms; compliance with local and state fire and safety regulations; adequate space for training in defensive tactics, and firearms range availability and the emergency vehicle operation training equipment and facilities.
(b) Copies of the approved course curriculum of commission mandated courses may be obtained from the director.
(c) Certification of training programs in the state of Wyoming shall be made on the basis of on-site inspections conducted by the director, unless effective certification can be accomplished without on-site inspection.
(d) The director shall annually certify the training programs of colleges as well as state and local law enforcement agencies.
(e) The director shall annually certify the training programs of schools, colleges or academies providing a basic course of law enforcement training of not less than the current approved basic provided by the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy; however, basic training programs shall be recertified by the director, upon verification of program content provided certification standards are maintained.
(f) Approval or disapproval of a commission mandated training program will be furnished in writing by the director to the administrator of the unit requesting certification within thirty (30) days of receipt of the request by the director. Any disapproval shall include reasonable explanations of deficiency.
(g) In the event certification of a commission approved mandated training program is denied, a written appeal may be made within thirty (30) days of the date of notification by the director. Appeals will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.
(a) A request for accreditation of in-service training courses must be completed and submitted to the director not less than twenty (20) days prior to the start of the scheduled training. The director shall act on the request within five (5) working days after receipt of the request.
(b) Requirements of the in-service training programs, which shall be included in the request for accreditation, are:
(i) Subject matter must be related to the duties of the peace officer, detention officer, dispatcher, coroner or deputy coroner;
(ii) Accreditation requests for training must provide courses which meets or exceeds four (4) hours of training;
(iii) Instructors must be identified and certified pursuant to these Rules;
(iv) Accreditation will not be granted for roll-call training, field training programs, or exclusive use of tapes, video tapes, and training films.
(c) The program must provide for a written attendance record. Students enrolled in the training course must attend a minimum of ninety percent (90%) of the course in order to receive accreditation. Partial credit shall not be granted.
(d) A Notice of Course Completion Form provided by the director must be completed for each class, signed by the course coordinator, and mailed to the director, within five (5) working days of completion of the course. Training hours cannot be validated until the Notice of Course Completion has been received.
(e) Firearms Training. Firearms training must be provided by a person who possesses credentials as a firearms instructor. Firearms qualification, contests, competition, weapons testing, or any similar type of activity shall not be construed as training and will not be granted accreditation. Credit for time spent waiting to fire or stand-by time will not be granted.
(f) LETN and LESTN Training.
(i) All requirements of this section must be met with the exceptions of (b)(ii)(iii) and (iv).
(ii) Course coordinator or a certified instructor must review course material received by LETN and LESTN prior to student viewing.
(A) Remain in classroom with the students during a broadcast;
(B) Answer questions about the material presented;
(C) Any course less than two (2) hours in length administer and proctor pre and post test.
(iii) Commission certification of the different training programs will be left to the discretion of the director. The commission will then assign a course number to each certifiable course and mail to all agencies receiving LETN and LESTN training.
(iv) LETN and LESTN training shall be reported to the commission on a monthly basis.
(v) Peace officers can acquire up to one half of the mandated professional recertification training hours. Detention officers can acquire up to one half of the mandated training hours for detention recertification.
(vi) Dispatchers can acquire up to one half of the mandated training hours for dispatch recertification.
(g) This section is subject to the provisions of these Rules which govern certification of training programs.
Section 5. Lateral Transfer. Credit for training hours received in other states may be granted by the director, provided;
(a) The training has been received in a state which has adopted a Peace Officers Standards & Training Act substantially similar to that adopted in Wyoming; and
(b) Such state does grant reciprocity for training received in the State of Wyoming; and
(c) Persons applying for certification under this section shall comply with the minimum training requirements of Chapter 5 of these Rules and Regulations; and
(d) Certificates of successful completion showing the number of training hours received are sent to the director. If certificates do not show hours attended, a course outline showing training hours must be sent with the certificate before credit will be granted.