U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) is working on new legislation that would expand the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to high schools around the nation that receive federal funds.
Also known as the Clery Act, the federal law requires colleges and universities to maintain records of criminal activity on and around their campuses and make the information publicly available.
“Ensuring that students, parents and the community are made aware of criminal activity in and around our schools is another important step to improving school safety in the United States,” Rep. MacArthur said last week.
Although not ready for release yet, the forthcoming bill would be the third after two other bills Rep. MacArthur introduced this year toward improving student safety in America’s schools.
The Modern School Threat Reporting Act of 2018, H.R. 7056, which he introduced on Oct. 9, would make grants available to states to buy a mobile application that facilitates the reporting of school safety threats to local law enforcement agencies for use by students in secondary schools, among other purposes, according to the text of the bill.
H.R. 7056 would require that applications for the grant include a plan to deter misuse of the app, including ways to prevent students from using it to bully others, according to a statement from Rep. MacArthur.
“Creating an avenue to anonymously report threats to local law enforcement will promote community safety and may prevent another one of these horrific events from occurring,” the congressman said, referring to the Feb. 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which a lone gunman killed 17 students and staff members and injured another 17 people.
“These innovative and modern tools will help states with their specific needs and bolster ongoing efforts to secure schools and create an effective relationship between schools and law enforcement agencies,” said MacArthur last week.
H.R. 7056 is being considered by both the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
Rep. MacArthur’s other bill, the bipartisan Mental Health and Public Safety Partnership Act of 2018, H.R. 6604, which he sponsored on July 26, would create a national pilot program to place on-site social workers in qualified police departments nationwide, according to the text of the bill.
“In many towns across the country, there is a gap between mental health and law enforcement services that needs to be filled,” said the lawmaker on Oct. 19. “Fostering relationships between law enforcement officials and social workers will better serve our communities and enhance safety throughout our communities.”
H.R. 6604, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), is under review by the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Andrew Pollack, founder of Americans for Children’s Lives and School Safety, whose daughter was among the students killed at the Parkland massacre earlier this year, said he thinks that MacArthur’s H.R. 6604 would be beneficial.
“We need to think outside the box and look to successful efforts at the local level, which is exactly what the Mental Health and Public Safety Partnership Act does,” Pollack said. “By having social workers embedded in police departments, the gap between law enforcement and mental health professionals can be closed, allowing cops to be cops and social workers to address any mental health concerns that are identified.”
Pollack is currently working with Rep. MacArthur to draft the forthcoming proposal to expand the Clery Act to federally funded high schools around the country.
“Accountability matters, which is why the Clery Act needs to be expanded to include secondary schools receiving federal funds,” Pollack said. “Congressman MacArthur hasn’t forgotten Parkland and it is refreshing to see a politician cut through the noise and focus on fixing what’s broken.”