Bill to improve school safety receives overwhelming Senate support

OLYMPIA – Nothing is more important to parents than knowing their child is headed to a safe place when they send them off to school every morning. The Senate passed a bill yesterday to improve school safety measures to protect our children.

“We all play a role to ensure our schools, and in particular our children, are safe,” said Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Kitsap County, the bill’s sponsor. “This legislation is the result of consultation with school principals, law enforcement, first responders, and emergency coordinators.”

Rockefeller’s bill would ramp up school safety by requiring schools to adopt and implement a safe school plan. Highlights of the legislation include:

• Updating the variety of monthly safety drills conducted during the school year;
• Encouraging school districts to apply for federal emergency response and crisis management grants;
• Regular updating and use of “school mapping” data being collected in all districts;
• Creating a new grant program that will be administered by the Educational Service Districts for the development and updating of comprehensive safe plans, school safety training, and safety-related drills; and
• Establishing a task force on gangs in schools.

“There are a lot of hazards – natural and human – which can affect safety in schools. This is clearly a situation where careful preparation can minimize risks and assure effective response and recovery,” Rockefeller said.

SB 5097 passed the Senate 47-0; it now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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