House Republican Legislators Call for Working Group to Address School Security & Safety
Rep. Hall and Rep. Ohler
Hartford – State Representative Carol Hall (R-59) spear-headed a new working group to address issues of school safety and security with colleagues Representatives JP Sredzinski (R-112) and Brian Ohler (R-64) on Tuesday, March 20th.
Rep. Hall previously served on the Enfield School Safety Committee convened in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting. In the aftermath of last month’s school shooting in Parkland, FL, there has been discussion in Connecticut and across the country about school security among educators, students and parents. Rep. Hall was interested in convening a similar group with her colleagues to study the issues on the state level.
“We are committed to a robust evaluation of the effectiveness of current school security-focused legislation and programs, as well as a canvass of current attitudes, concerns and trends in hardening schools,” said the representatives. “It is apparent that there is national unease regarding the safety of students and faculty in our schools. This is not acceptable. We are creating this working group of experts and education stakeholders to explore several options for making progress in ensuring safe learning communities.”
The legislators announced the following action items for the working group at the news conference:
- Summarize current school safety legislation;
- Measure school districts’ knowledge of current legislation;
- Use and availability of existing state and federal funds;
- Review of whether regulations and associated programs have been implemented;
- Availability of school-based mental health professionals;
- Parents’ knowledge and understanding of their district’s security measures;
- Local educators’ view of the effectiveness of legislation and related programs;
- Determine viability of school security measures installed years ago;
- Identify new trends and techniques in school security;
- Collect recent concerns of educators, students and law enforcement;
- Determine what other states are doing
The legislators also intend to communicate with their districts, teachers, superintendents, and students to get feedback on what has been done, how things have changed and what they still feel needs to change.
Among the working group’s proposed participants:
- Republican and Democrat legislators;
- School superintendents;
- Law enforcement personnel;
- Mental health professionals for children.
- Federal agency liaisons
- School security consultants
- Students and parents
“Today, we invite our Democratic colleagues to join us in this initiative. We hope this working group can become permanent, so we can make certain that our school districts are getting the best resources and guidance. We need to remain diligent in order to protect our most important assets, our children,” said the representatives.