Last month, when 17 innocent children and adults were massacred in Parkland, Fla., President Trump delivered a forceful response: The failures to confront school violence in America over the past 40 years end now.
Trump and his entire administration are committed to making America safe by implementing evidence-based measures that will help improve mental health, prevent crime, and keep violent behavior out of our schools and communities. At the president’s urging, Congress included a number of these provisions into the recent government funding legislation, now signed into law.
The president has called on Congress to expand mental health programs, including those that help identify and treat individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others. Congress heard and acted on this request in its omnibus spending bill, giving $700 million to the Department of Education for Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants. These grants give states flexibility to use the money toward counseling and mental health service programs that can work in their schools and communities.
As part of the bill and at the president’s urging, Congress also passed both the STOP School Violence Act and the Fix NICS Act — referring to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
The STOP School Violence Act helps protect our nation’s youth and educators by providing grants to state and local governments for evidence-based violence prevention training. Administered by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, these grants will provide states with funds for training, technology, and technical assistance to help schools identify potential risks and prevent violent acts.
The Fix NICS Act strengthens background checks by enhancing the accountability of federal agencies to report relevant information to NICS, helping keep firearms out of the hands of those who should not possess them under the law. This act also incentivizes states to improve their own reporting to the federal system.
I am glad Congress has listened to the president to enact these common-sense proposals, yet there is still more work to be done.
The president is urging all states to pass laws creating Extreme Risk Protection Orders, a key tool for law enforcement. These orders permit law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who pose an extreme risk of violence to themselves or to others, and they prevent those individuals from obtaining new firearms while an order is in place. The administration understands the need to carefully tailor these state ERPO laws to ensure the due process rights of law-abiding citizens are protected.
The president is also insisting that we address the need for schools to improve their security infrastructure. Such reforms enjoy broad bipartisan support: The Obama administration proposed to provide $150 million for armed personnel in schools.
The benefits of placing trained and armed personnel in schools to help deter potential shooters and stop active ones is obvious — one has only to review the swift response by an armed school resource officer to an active shooter at Great Mills High School in Maryland last week. This is why Trump supports helping schools partner with state and local law enforcement to provide firearms training for school personnel through leveraging Department of Justice assistance programs.
Although we have already made great strides in addressing the tragic reality of school violence, the conversation is not over and should not just occur in response to school massacres. The president is committed to a long-term strategy that implements and promotes best practices and policies to combat and prevent violence in schools. That is why he created the Federal Commission on School Safety, which I am honored to lead.
Working closely with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, and state and local leaders, this commission will take decisive action and provide recommendations and resources to states and local governments to help make our schools safer. The commission will begin its meetings this week and will proceed to hold hearings with stakeholders from all walks of life to hear solutions from those who work with students every day.
Trump believes the most important way we can demonstrate meaningful support for the families and communities who have suffered from school violence is to ensure that no other communities suffer as they have. This administration will continue to work diligently to ensure our children are safe in every school and in every community in our great country.
Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) is the secretary of Education.
