Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the STOP School Violence Act. I want to congratulate Sheriff Rutherford, the original sponsor of the bill, for his dedicated work on this project, among others.

In the immediate wake of last month's tragedy in Parkland, more than 15 students in my home district in eastern Kentucky were arrested. Thankfully, our students and local law enforcement acted swiftly to prevent a copycat event in our own schools. As our Nation battles this epidemic of school violence, it is imperative that we utilize our available resources to stop tragic events before they occur. But, unfortunately, too many students and officials don't have the tools they need to successfully act under similar situations.

This bill takes necessary and commonsense steps to prevent school bullying, suicide, and violence, providing grant funding to States to implement proven and evidence-based trainings that detect threats before they come to fruition. In most cases of school suicides and shootings, at least one other person knew of the plan and failed to report it. So these appalling events are avoidable, but we must give our schools the tools and resources they need, and this bill would do just that.

Enhancing early detection, prevention, and coordination with law enforcement will save lives. There may not be one single answer to preventing all future violence in schools, but this effort is very much a part of the solution.

Mr. Speaker, I was proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to vote for it.

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