House School Safety Bill Would Not Fund Firearms for Teachers
Legislation authorizing $75 million in school safety grants is scheduled for a House vote March 14, after lawmakers tweaked the bill to bar any of the funds from being spent to arm teachers.
The bill (H.R. 4909) would authorize a Justice Department program to help train teachers and students how to recognize and respond to potential signs of violence. The bill will be taken up under suspension of the rules, a procedure that limits debate and is typically reserved for legislation with broad support.
Modifying the bill through a technical correction earlier in the week won praise from groups like the National Association of Secondary School Principals, which supports more spending on school safety but opposes a White House proposal to help provide firearms training to school personnel.
“No one bill will solve every problem with school and community safety,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.). But he said the measure would take important, immediate steps.
“I know that the best way to prevent horrific acts like the one we saw last month is to have the community and law enforcement working together to spot signs of violence before they ever occur,” he said in a statement.
The legislation enjoys bipartisan support. The White House has signed off on the modifications restricting use of the funds to arm teachers and the language has also been added to a companion Senate bill (S. 2495), according to congressional aides.
Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Derek Kilmer (D-Wa.) said in a letter to colleagues that the bill was “introduced before President Trump started his distracting and counterproductive call for arming teachers.” The House bill was introduced before 17 people were killed Feb. 14 in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
But the bill only covers the authorized grant program and would not preclude separate legislation to help arm school personnel.
“I’m sure there are some members of Congress who are supporting the president’s proposal,” said Amanda Karhuse, advocacy director for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “I don’t think it means there’s never going to be a proposal like that to come out of Congress.”
And not all education are happy with the bill. The School Superintendents Association said the bill wouldn’t do enough to physically protect schools and the group objects to allowing private schools to qualify for grants without following standards set in the national K-12 education law.
“We urge Congress to continue to work together on this important legislation, which must be the first and not only, to address the physical safety of our students while in school,” said Sasha Pudelski, the group’s advocacy director.
By: Emily Wilkins
Source: Bloomberg Government