Washington, DC – Democrat United States Rep. Gwen Graham from Florida introduced a bill to the House of Representatives on July 14 to take further precautions in protecting school students from acts of terror. The bill would provide for grants from the Attorney General to local education agencies to purchase and install devices that would allow for the immediate notification of appropriate officials in case of emergency, and for other purposes.
THE RUNDOWN
- Rep. Graham’s legislation, the Secure our Schools Act, would authorize the Department of Justice to issue grants to local school districts to install “SOS buttons” in classrooms
“In recent years, we’ve seen far too many heartbreaking and shocking episodes of violence. We must work together to make our country and Florida safer. This legislation will help better secure our schools from violence and potential acts of terrorism.”
- The bill was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary
- For each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020, the Attorney General may make a grant to a local education agency to acquire and install a device that allows for immediate notification of emergency response personnel, law enforcement, or other appropriate officials in the case of an emergency
- The issues include health emergencies, reports of an assailant armed with a weapon, an act of terrorism, a natural disaster, or other similar emergency
- A grant under this section may not be in an amount greater than $200,000 for fiscal year
- On July 14, the bill was referred to the House Education and the Workforce committee
- On August 11, the bill was referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations
- Republican United States Rep. Mike Bost from Illinois is a co-sponsor of the bill