Section 170. Private security services training session

A. Training sessions will be conducted in accordance with requirements established in this chapter. Adherence to the administrative requirements, attendance, and standards of conduct are the responsibility of the training school, training school director, and instructor of the training session.

B. Administrative requirements.

1. In a manner approved by the department, a notification to conduct a training session shall be submitted to the department. All notifications shall be received by the department, or postmarked if mailed, no less than seven calendar days prior to the beginning of each training session to include the date, time, instructors, and location of the training session. The department may allow a session to be conducted with less than seven calendar days of notification with prior approval. Session notifications require no fee from the training school. A notification to conduct a training session shall be deemed to be in compliance unless the training school director is notified by the department to the contrary.

2. Notification of any changes to the date, time, or location or cancellation of a future training session must be submitted to the department in writing and received by the department at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled starting time of the class. In the event that a session must be canceled on the scheduled date, the department must be notified immediately followed by a cancellation in writing as soon as practical.

3. Course outline and training objectives must be approved by the department prior to offering a course of instruction for enrollment.

4. The training school director shall issue an original training completion form provided by the department to each student who satisfactorily completes a training session no later than five business days following the training completion date.

5. In a manner approved by the department, the training school director shall submit an original training completion roster to the department affirming each student's successful completion of the session. The training completion roster shall be received by the department within seven calendar days or, if mailed, postmarked no later than five business days following the training completion date and must be accompanied by the applicable, nonrefundable processing fee.

6. A written examination shall be administered at the conclusion of each entry-level training session. The examination shall be based on the applicable learning objectives. The student must attain a minimum grade of 70% for all entry-level training examinations and pass any applicable practical exercises to satisfactorily complete the training session.

7. Firearms classroom training shall be separately tested and graded. Individuals must achieve a minimum score of 70% on the firearms classroom training examination.

8. Failure to achieve a minimum score of 70% on the firearms classroom written examination will exclude the individual from the firearms range training.

9. To successfully complete the handgun or shotgun firearms range training, the individual must achieve a minimum qualification score of 75% of the scoring value of the target.

10. To successfully complete the advanced firearms range training, the individual must achieve a minimum qualification score of 92% of the scoring value of the target.

11. To successfully complete the patrol rifle firearms range training, the individual must achieve a minimum qualification score of 85% of the scoring value of the target.

C. Attendance.

1. Private security services business personnel enrolled in an approved training session are required to be present for the hours required for each training session unless they have been granted a partial exemption to training from the department.

2. Tardiness and absenteeism will not be permitted. Individuals violating these provisions will be required to make up any training missed. All training must be completed within the 12 months prior to application of a registration or certification. Individuals not completing the required training within this period are required to complete the entire training session.

3. Individuals who do not successfully complete the compulsory minimum training standards of the training session shall not be issued a training completion form or training certificate.

4. Each individual attending an approved training session shall comply with the regulations promulgated by the board and any other rules within the authority of the training school. If the training school director or instructor considers a violation of the rules detrimental to the training of other students or to involve cheating on examinations, the training school director or instructor may expel the individual from the school. Notification of such action shall immediately be reported to the employing firms and the department.

D. Standards of conduct.

1. The training school, training school director, and instructor shall at all times conform to the application requirements, administrative requirements, and standards of conduct established for certification as a training school and instructor.

2. Training sessions will be conducted by certified instructors or other individuals authorized to provide instruction pursuant to this chapter and each of whom must be present for all periods of instruction unless otherwise authorized by the department.

3. Training sessions will be conducted utilizing lesson plans developed including at a minimum the compulsory minimum training standards established by the board as prescribed in 6VAC20-174.

4. Instruction shall be provided in no less than 50-minute classes.

5. Training sessions shall not exceed nine hours of classroom instruction per day. Range qualification and practical exercises shall not be considered classroom instruction; however, total training, including the maximum allotment of nine hours classroom instruction and applicable range qualification and practical exercises, shall not exceed 12 hours per day. This does not include time allotted for breaks, meals, and testing.

6. All audiovisual training aids must be accompanied by a period of instruction where the instructor reviews the content of the presentation and the students are provided the opportunity to ask questions regarding the content.

7. A training session must adhere to the minimum compulsory training standards as set forth by the board and must be presented in its entirety. Training school directors may require additional hours of instruction, testing, or evaluation procedures.

8. A training session must provide accurate and current information to the students.

9. Mandated training that is not conducted in accordance with the Code of Virginia, 6VAC20-174, and this chapter is null and void.

10. A duplicate set of instructor course materials, including all student materials, shall be made available to any department inspector during the training session, if requested.

11. Certifiable in-service training may include a maximum of one hour of instruction dedicated to the review of regulations unless otherwise authorized by the department.

12. Live ammunition, pyrotechnics, and explosives are not to be utilized or present in any firearms training environment except on a firing range approved by the department.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 31, Issue 25, eff. September 9, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 9.1-141 of the Code of Virginia.