Michigan TEAM School Liaison Training: 26 Officers Complete 40-Hour Course

Record status, August 14, 2026: Michigan State Police confirms the class was completed. It says 26 officers finished the five-day TEAM course. The agency also confirms the stated lessons and agency count. BadPD has not reviewed classroom quality or student results.

Twenty-six officers from 21 agencies completed a 40-hour Michigan State Police course. The course is meant to prepare officers for work with students and schools. An August 14 MSP release confirms the class.

This is a good-cop receipt BadPD can document. It has named training, set hours, a completion date, and a public goal. It does not prove that every graduate will perform well. It does not prove that officers in schools always improve safety. Training is a start. Results still need review.

Who completed the course

MSP says the group included eight sheriff’s deputies. It also included 18 city or township police officers. Most of the 21 agencies were in Michigan. One Pennsylvania agency also took part. The five-day course ended August 14.

The agency describes its Teaching, Educating, and Mentoring program, commonly called TEAM, as a school-based curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade. MSP says TEAM operates in more than 250 Michigan school districts. That scale is an agency statement and should be read as such; the August 14 release does not include an independent district list or outcome study.

What the 40 hours covered

MSP says the training covered juvenile psychology and classroom management. It also covered public speaking, school safety, and bullying. Other lessons addressed cybercrime, social media, drugs, and vaping. Those topics fit the daily work of a school liaison. An officer needs more than enforcement skill to work well in a school.

The course also raises accountability questions. Schools should explain each officer’s role. Is the officer a teacher, mentor, safety worker, investigator, or disciplinarian? Students and parents need clear complaint channels. Districts should track referrals, arrests, force, and key trends. They should also watch for routine school discipline moving into the justice system.

MSP’s Office of School Safety publishes broader training and resource information, including the state’s K-12 School Safety Academy. Those official pages help establish the program structure. They do not prove a causal connection between this class and fewer incidents, stronger student trust, or better emergency response.

What communities should ask next

Agencies should publish assignment rules. They should also publish school agreements and refresher needs. Basic activity data should be public. A department should not ask people to judge the program from graduation photos alone.

The officers also deserve clear expectations and adequate preparation. A 40-hour course can establish a common baseline, but it cannot replace supervision, continuing education, de-escalation practice, child-protection protocols, disability awareness, and district-specific rules. Public recognition is appropriate for completing real work; continued accountability is how that work becomes credible service.

BadPD will treat the August 14 graduation as a confirmed training receipt and will not inflate it into an outcome claim. The useful follow-up is local: which graduates enter schools, under what written policies, and what measurable results their communities see.

Sources and dates

• Michigan State Police graduation release, August 14, 2026.
• MSP TEAM School Liaison Program, accessed August 14, 2026.
• MSP Office of School Safety, accessed August 14, 2026.
• Michigan K-12 School Safety Academy, accessed August 14, 2026.