- In Florida, the Governor signed into law legislative reforms to school safety, mental health and gun-control measures. Part of the $400 million allocated in the law will be used to hire and train more school resource officers and mental health counselors and install extra safety equipment.
- In Arkansas, the Arkansas School Safety Commission will recommend school safety policy and campus design practices after the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. On the list of issues will be a recommendation on procedures necessary to deputize staff members.
- In Florida, officials in Flagler County schools will be ramping up from six to 13 full-time school resource officers. This will allow for one deputy assigned to each elementary and middle school, two to each high school and one supervisor to float between campuses.
- In Tennessee, the Tennessee School Safety Task Force disclosed data that show that Tennessee has more than twice the national average of incidents where students bring firearms to school and just 865 school resource officers for the state’s nearly 1 million students.
- In Congress, two bills have been introduced to enhance school safety. H.R. 5185, or the Protect America’s Schools Act, would appropriate $1.5 billion for the Community Oriented Policing Services’ School Resource Officer program. The COPS program helps provide grant funding, technical assistance, and resources for local government agencies to staff schools with SROs. H.R. 5186, or the Veterans Securing Schools Act, would allow state or local veterans to serve as school resource officers.
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