Story by Ginni Sisemore, Opinion Editor
The Trump administration created the Federal Commission on School Safety in response to school shootings that happened between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, 2018, including the shooting at Marshall County High School.
During a roundtable discussion on Dec. 18, 2018, President Donald Trump discussed the commission’s final report with commission members, Florida’s Attorney General, the president of the Santa Fe Texas School Board, several students and families affected by the Parkland, Florida shooting and Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Byars.
“We’re here to discuss concrete steps of our nation that… we’re going to take to prevent school shootings and keep our children safe,” Trump said.
According to the report, the purpose of the commission is to research and recommend solutions for school violence.
In March 2018, the Trump administration advocated the passage of the STOP School Violence Act and The Fix NICS Act, which were created to combat school violence. The Fix NICS Act was signed into law shortly after on March 23, 2018.
These pieces of legislation propose funding for proactive strategies to identify and prevent school violence, such as evidence-based training, anonymous reporting systems, threat assessments, intervention teams and increased coordination between schools and local law enforcement, and a stronger background check program for purchasing
firearms.
In addition to these bills, the report provided suggestions about how schools can prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to and recover from violence.
“Character education and a positive school climate can help students feel connected to, rather than isolated from, teachers and fellow students,” according to the report.
Marshall County Schools implemented procedures similar to the policies suggested in the report after the shooting on Jan. 23, 2018.
Marshall County Superintendent Trent Lovett enacted a policy that required bag checks and metal detector wanding of each student who enters the school.
The new policy created an opportunity for teachers and administration to connect with students as well.
“You were able to communicate and every student had that communication with two different people: the person doing the wanding and the person doing the bookbag check,” Lovett said.
The report also highlighted access to mental health care providers as an important tool to prevent violence. Lovett has already implemented this in Marshall County Schools.
“We have added additional mental health counselors,” Lovett said. “We have two mental health counselors that are employees of the Marshall County school district, then we have also contracted with an outside agency, Mountain Comprehensive Care.”
Access to mental health counselors allow for early identification of students in need and gives them access to treatment they would otherwise not have, according to the report.
It also provides suggestions to mitigate violence, including training and increased security.
“All school personnel play a role in school safety and should take part in school safety training,” according to the report.
Lovett said faculty and staff at Marshall County High School had participated in an active shooter training just weeks before the shooting occurred.
After the shooting, Lovett increased the number of school resource officers from one to five and implemented new security measures.
The report stated SROs are vital to protect students and teachers from violence, as those with specialized training are the most equipped to handle it. It also emphasized the importance of building security and suggested schools be assessed for risk to identify and resolve lapses in security.
The commission also recommended that federal and state governments provide grants to school districts to improve building security issues identified in risk assessments.
Suggestions were provided for responding and recovering in the event of a shooting, such as school hardening and knowing how to react.
School hardening makes it more difficult for active shooters to cause damage once they have begun an attack. This includes making the school harder to enter and creating safe places within each
classroom.
When each student knows the protocol for an active-shooter situation, risk is diminished. Regular drills ensure each student know how to respond.
In Kentucky, regular “lockdown drills” are mandated by law. These drills simulate an active shooter situation. They are not announced to students and are not called a drill for the duration of the practice.
Schools nationwide have adopted these suggestions in response to school violence.