Two bills introduced recently by U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) aim to protect America’s students from mass shootings and other violence by ramping up security at schools nationwide.
“Following the horrific events that have occurred in our schools across our country, in particular the recent events in Nashville, Tenn., I am reintroducing these common-sense bills to help harden our schools against violent crimes and individuals with intent to harm our students,” Rep. Garcia said. “Nobody in this country wants to see these tragic events continue, and now we must work together to find solutions to deter future violence from taking place.”
The Safe Schools Act would permit specific unspent COVID-19 relief dollars to be used by schools to enhance physical security measures, such as locks, panic buttons, individual room security systems, video surveillance, and the hiring and salaries of armed school resource officers (SROs), according to the bill summaries provided by Rep. Garcia’s staff.
The Strengthening School Security for Students Act, H.R. 2495, which Rep. Garcia sponsored on April 6, would provide funding for schools to hire and train at least two SROs per 500 students to improve school security and protect students from potential threats, the summaries say.
“I am hopeful that these bills will receive bipartisan support and pass through both chambers of Congress, and be signed into law by the president,” said Rep. Garcia.