Advancing School Safety
PRIORITY: NSBA supports recent congressional action to increase the funding and flexibility of grants that are provided to states and local school districts to make school safety improvements. However, as the number of deadly school violence incidents increase, more must be done. NSBA encourages Congress and the Administration to take the necessary actions to ensure that all children have a safe and secure learning environment, including by adopting the following ideas included in the Federal Commission on School Safety report:
- Provide greater and sustained resources for locally determined programs that are critical to school safety, such as school resource officers, school counseling, emergency preparedness and response training and interagency coordination.
- Federal resources for school safety are spread across many agencies and a comprehensive guide should be published about where schools can access funding opportunities and/or technical assistance for disaster preparedness and emergency response operations.
- Provide greater and sustained federal resources that expand access to mental health services and support comprehensive “wrap-around” services to schools that include a range of community resources to address safety and intervention.
- Increase resources that focus on the social, emotional, physical and mental health of students.
Violence of any sort has no place in American classrooms. As the nation and elected leaders grapple with potential solutions to reduce gun violence in our schools, students are rightly demanding action. All students deserve access to safe and supportive learning environments that support their opportunities to learn and are free of abuse, violence, bullying, weapons and harmful substances. NSBA has long encouraged local school boards to recognize that prevention, preparedness, mitigation and emergency response and recovery plans are critical to protect the safety and health of students and employees. These plans work best when school districts have the resources they need to work in coordination with the appropriate local, state and federal agencies, including public health officials and first responders, and address environmental, health, and safety risks along with potential security breaches. Further, NSBA urges local school boards to continue to analyze data with regards to student discipline and engage in restorative practices to reduce suspensions and expulsions.