Higgins Introduces School Safety Bills

Press Release

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) has introduced H.R. 5242, the School Resource Officer Assessment Act of 2018, and H.R. 5243, the School Watch and Training (SWAT) Act of 2018, two bills which examine and strengthen school safety standards across the nation.

The School Resource Officer Assessment Act directs the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Education to gather data regarding the number and status of school resource officers assigned to each public school.

The SWAT Act would establish national training standards for school resource officers in conjunction with the Department of Justice and the Department of Education. Those standards would include active shooter training and other best practices to ensure school safety.

Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:

"American schools are soft targets, and as a nation, we must change that. Airlines used to be soft targets, they're certainly not anymore. We've hardened vulnerable areas before, and we shall again. That effort begins with empowering and supporting local law enforcement. Right now, there is no comprehensive data regarding the deployment of school safety assets in schools across our nation. We must ensure that our public schools have the necessary resources and a sufficient number of well-trained cops to protect our kids and teachers. These bills identify where assets are needed and establish enhanced training standards that will keep our schools safe. Our office is working on broad, comprehensive legislation that will be introduced in the weeks to come. These two bills are just the beginning."

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