US House approves bill to fund increased security in schools News
US House approves bill to fund increased security in schools

The US House of Representatives [official website] on Wednesday voted 407-10 [roll-call, text] to approve HR 4909 [text, PDF], a bill that seeks to increase funding for security and safety in schools.

Titled “STOP School Violence Act of 2018,” the bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act [text, PDF] of 1968 (the Omnibus Act). Among other things, the bill mandates: 1) training to prevent student violence against others and self, including training for local law enforcement officers, school personnel, and students; and 2) development and operation of anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and internet websites.

The bill also changed the conditions imposed on the uses of funds granted for improving security. While the Omnibus Act currently requires the funds to be used for, among other things, the placement and use of metal detectors and other deterrent measures, security assessments, and security training of personnel and students, this bill would instead more generally require “evidence-based training and technical assistance to prevent violence” and “training to prevent student violence against others and self, including training for local law enforcement officers, school personnel, and students.”

The bill also mandates the development and operation of anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence, including mobile phone applications, hotlines and internet websites, and authorizes sub-grants to state or local law enforcement agencies, schools, school districts, nonprofit organizations or Indian tribal organizations to implement the primary grants awarded by this bill in conjunction with the Omnibus Act.

Additionally, the bill imposes an additional condition for preferential consideration of grants under the Omnibus Act requiring that the jurisdiction requesting such grants “use evidence-based strategies and programs, such as those identified by the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative of the Department of Justice [PDF, National Institute of Justice backgrounder].”

The bill increases the cost threshold for a program using the grants from 50 percent to 75 percent and the amount of the authorized grants from $30 million to $50 million for fiscal years 2019 through 2028.

Although the bill received overwhelming bipartisan support, many criticized the law describing it as completely lacking of gun control measures. Congressman Steny Hoyer [official website] of Maryland remarked [CNN report] that “This is a pretense that we are doing something while assuring the NRA that we aren’t doing anything.”