How to Become a California Commission on POST Approved Presenter
POST strives to ensure that all California law enforcement agencies have access to high-quality, cost-effective training for the development of the skills, knowledge, ethics, and attitudes necessary for achieving and maintaining professional excellence. References to a “POST-certified” course means that the Commission has approved the course for presentation in accordance with Commission Regulations 1052-1056. Presenters must adhere to these regulations for the course to remain certified through the Commission on POST.
Why Have a Course POST Certified?
POST sets minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement officers and dispatchers, which fosters professionalism in agencies and requires a specific number of in-service continuing professional training (CPT) hours. In addition, POST mandates specific topics for ongoing training that must be completed by peace officers and dispatchers in order to maintain, update, expand and/or enhance an individual’s knowledge and/or skills. To aid in accomplishing training mandates, POST partners with various law enforcement agencies, joint powers agencies (JPAs), and private training partners to provide the high-quality training peace officers and dispatchers require.
Who Can Become a Presenter?
Currently, POST partners with law enforcement agencies, JPAs, and private training presenters located within the State of California for in-person and online training. The State is divided into ten regional areas, each of which is overseen by a regional consultant. Presenters with a business presence in California, may visit our Regional Training Map to identify the appropriate Regional Consultant based on the location of the business’s headquarters.
If a presenter does not have a California presence, they may consider identifying a law enforcement agency that may be interested in hosting the course(s). The interested agency MAY be able to submit the course for POST-certification and present the course on the out of state presenter’s behalf. The interested agency should contact their POST Regional Consultant to begin the course certification process.
What Does the Process to Become a Presenter Entail?
A representative of the presenter should complete the Request to Become POST-Approved Presenter Form. This form will be reviewed by POST staff for completeness and accuracy. POST staff will refer the completed Request to Become POST-Approved Presenter Form to the Regional Consultant for review and approval. Prior to approval, the potential presenter must meet all eligibility criteria to be reviewed by the Regional Consultant including but not limited to: the type of training to be provided and purpose for the training; establishing a training need exists; potential training location(s); presenter’s familiarity with policies, practices, and regulations related to California law enforcement; subject matter expertise and qualifications of instructors; and presentation costs.
Potential presenters must agree to participate in the Quality Assessment Program (QAP) and shall be subject to a QAP evaluation within one year from time of course certification or at a time of POST’s choosing. Completion of this process will be required prior to certification of additional courses or eligibility for POST reimbursement plans (Regulation 1015).
Once the POST Approved Presenter Form has been approved by the Regional Consultant, the consultant will contact the potential presenter to discuss a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) (2-343) (pdf). The purpose of this form is to determine whether the proposed course will meet an ongoing, unmet training need in the area of interest.
If the TNA is approved by the regional consultant, a representative of the presenter will then need to complete an Electronic Data Interchange Presenter Access Application (3-102) (pdf) to obtain access to our Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system which is the database used for course certification. The EDI system is also used to advertise courses in the Course Catalog once it has been certified and scheduled for presentation.
Once approved as a presenter, it is highly recommended that a representative of the presenter completes the Training Administrator Course (TAC). The Training Administrator’s Course will provide the presenter with guidance on how to complete the course certification process in the EDI system. The new POST presenter will receive email correspondence from POST staff on how to register for the TAC. Should additional assistance be required after completing the TAC, POST staff are available to assist with the course certification process.