Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) voted for bipartisan legislation that will enhance safety training for teachers and students in our schools. The STOP School Violence Act (H.R. 4909) creates a grant program to train students, teachers, school officials and local law enforcement on how to identify and intervene when early signs of violence in students occur. The legislation also creates a coordinated system for reporting these signs and implements school threat assessment protocols to prevent shootings before they happen. The STOP School Violence Act passed the House today by a vote of 407 – 10.
“This legislation is a first step to installing a more robust framework to ensure that schools identify students prone to violent behavior and do something about it before it’s too late,” said Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, who taught junior and senior high school in Missouri for over ten years. “It is part of an all-encompassing approach that we must take to identify and implement measures that combat violence in our schools. Parents need to know that their children are safe in school, and more importantly, students must feel safe in their learning environment,” added Hartzler, who in a meeting with President Trump last week called for an across the board review of possible causes related to school violence. The bill the House passed today also funds technology to improve school security and supports increased law enforcement coordination, particularly for officers who already staff schools.
In an effort to assist law enforcement and enhance school safety in rural communities, the House also recently passed a Hartzler provision that would allow off duty and retired police officers to carry a firearm to protect children at school. Rep. Hartzler’s bill, H.R. 2513, the Police Officers Protecting Children Act, was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, Laclede County Sheriff David Millsap and Pulaski County Sheriff Jimmy Bench. It was included in H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which passed in December of 2017.
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