Cornyn Introduces Bipartisan School Safety Legislation

Along with 21 bipartisan Senators, I introduced the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, a bill to fund school security improvements and invest in early intervention and prevention programs to stop school violence before it occurs. 

Those tasked with protecting the lives of our schoolchildren should have access to the latest evidence-based safety training. reparing students, staff, and law enforcement to stop violence before it happens is critical for ensuring our schools are safe places to learn, and this legislation would help broaden the reach of these lifesaving programs.

Background on the STOP School Violence Act of 2018:

This bill reauthorizes and amends the 2001-2009 bipartisan Secure Our Schools Act to offer Department of Justice grants to states to help our schools implement proven, evidence-based programs and technologies that STOP school violence before it happens. 

The bill allows grants to fund evidence-based programs and practices to:

• Train students, school personnel, and local law enforcement to identify warning signs and intervene to stop school violence before it happens;
• Improve school security infrastructure to deter and respond to threats of school violence, including evidence-based technology and equipment, and the development and implementation of anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence;
• Develop and operate school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams to take in and triage threats before tragedy strikes; and
• Facilitate coordination between schools and local law enforcement.

The bill would authorize $75 million for FY 2018, and $100 million annually for the next ten years, which may be partially offset from a DOJ research program called the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative.

This bill was jointly introduced by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Tom Udall (D-NM), Dean Heller (R-NV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Doug Jones (D-AL), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Angus King (D-ME).