U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) on April 30 sought to empower local education stakeholders’ school safety efforts by providing them some guidance from federal authorities.
“I asked the nation’s leading security experts to come to our community and share their perspectives,” said Rep. Donovan, who hosted senior officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) during the roundtable discussion on school safety.
“NYPD and DOE officials also had the opportunity to discuss their initiatives and, most importantly, identify opportunities for partnership with the federal government,” said Donovan, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications.
“No parent should drop a child off at school and fear for his or her safety,” Rep. Donovan added.
The federal security experts shared their best practices and provided information on collaboration and grant funding with DOE stakeholders, according to the congressman’s office.
Toward producing a more secure educational environment, Robert Kolasky, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary of the National Protection and Program Directorate’s Office of Infrastructure Protection, said DHS is adapting the If You See Something, Say Something program to make it usable in a local school setting, according to Donovan’s staff. The trademark-registered DHS program details how to report suspicious activity and report it to local law enforcement.
Additionally, DHS and the Secret Service are analyzing the school threat environment to find proactive ways to circumvent and prevent a student who may cause harm, Kolasky said.
DHS also sponsors response-and-recovery tabletop exercises and workshops to assist school districts in mitigating damage during and after an active shooter event, he added.
Likewise, FEMA has initiated a campaign entitled, You Are the Help Until Help Arrives, which includes training on how to provide first aid to a victim with serious injuries while awaiting first responders. The campaign outlines easy ways for bystanders to provide help during life-threatening emergencies by taking simple actions, according to FEMA. The campaign includes an animated interactive video, web-based training program, and a downloadable instructor guide and student tools for providing in-person training.
Other organizations represented at the roundtable included the United Federation of Teachers, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, and Community Education Council District 31.
Relatedly, Rep. Donovan voted to pass the bipartisan Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, H.R. 4909, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved on March 14 in a 407-10 vote.
H.R. 4909, introduced on Jan. 30 by U.S. Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL), would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY 2028 the Secure Our Schools (SOS) grant program. The SOS grant program provides grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to improve security, including the placement and use of metal detectors and other deterrent measures, at schools and on school grounds, according to a summary in the congressional record.
H.R. 4909, which had 100 cosponsors in the House, has moved to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.