U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines announced a new proposal, the School Safety & Mental Health Services Improvement Act, legislation to allow 100,000 public schools, including over 800 in Montana, to improve school safety by using federal dollars for school counselors, alarm systems, security cameras and crisis intervention training.
Download the video HERE.
“Parents want to know their kids are safe,” said Daines. “This bill improves school security by using federal funds for measures such as school counselors, alarm systems and training to respond to crisis. This allows our local schools to make decisions that best protect our children and stop violence before it happens.”
A one-page summary of the legislation is available, HERE.
There are 100,000 public schools in the United States, and state and local governments provide about 90 percent of public schools’ funding. However, the federal government can and should help create an environment for communities, school boards and states to create safer schools.
Under The School Safety & Mental Health Services Improvement Act, the federal government can help in the following four ways:
- encourage the hiring of more school counselors and other mental health professionals
- encourage school safety infrastructure upgrades
- encourage the development of mental health programs for crisis intervention training and mental health assessments
- create a presidential task force to increase interagency communication
Background:
On March 3, 2018, Daines and Senator Orrin Hatch (UT) announced a new proposal, the Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act. This bipartisan legislation secures our schools by implementing proven, evidence-based programs and technologies that stop school violence before it happens.
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