School safety bills proposed by Pennsylvania lawmakers range from requiring mental health checkups and depression screenings for children before they enter sixth grade to requiring increased safety training for school police and security officers.
But Bradford Area School District Superintendent Katy Pude said she has her reservations, even in the aftermath of violence in schools across the nation, particularly the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that resulted in 17 deaths.
Pude said many of the proposed bills would be unfunded mandates that high-poverty school districts would find difficult to pay for.
“Other bills propose grant funding for schools, but would eliminate the needed supports for those districts that do not receive the grants,” she said. “I believe that having equitable mental health services available for our youth, training for teachers and staff on how to recognize and support students in crisis, additional safety trainings for teachers and staff and funding for safety measures would all help to make our schools safer.”
LancasterOnline recently published a listing of proposed bills in Pennsylvania, including requiring a mental health checkup and depression screening for children before they enter sixth grade; requiring annual mental health screenings for every child in second through 12th grades; requiring that a child who made terroristic threats undergo a psychiatric evaluation before he or she can be released from detention; and adding mental health services and school safety to the list of allowable exceptions that a school board may use to address the district’s financial needs.
Other proposals include requiring increased safety training for school police and security officers; amending the Public School Code to allow school districts to replace as many as five monthly fire drills a year with school security drills; requiring school districts to conduct school emergency drills; and requiring a metal detector at school entrances and a school resource officer, certified and trained to use a firearm in every school.
Galeton Area School District Superintendent Alanna Huck said she believes the bills are a good start to protecting schools.
“I do believe a greater focus needs to be placed on mental health services with money behind those bills to help students who may be in a crisis situation,” she said. “It is fine to assess student mental health, but we need the money and facilities to help students who may need help. The money for school safety is a good idea as well but how do those reading the grants make the decision on which grant application is the best?”
No matter the solution, it should be multi-pronged, well-thought out and evidence-based, said Otto-Eldred School District Superintendent Matt Splain.
“School climate and mental health support need to be included in any solution, as well as building security improvements,” he said.
Since each school is different, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t do the job for everyone, Huck said.
“My fear of having a review committee would be a mandate that all schools must follow regarding school safety. My needs in rural Pennsylvania are most likely a bit different than a school in the city,” she said.
State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, agreed with Huck’s sentiment.
In March, the House Education Committee conducted a hearing on the matter, and the theme that kept coming up again and again across the state was the lack of diversity of a mandated, one-size-fits-all approach to securing schools.
“Instead, I think it is our responsibility as lawmakers to ensure a variety of tools are available to fit the different needs of school buildings in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state,” Causer said. “Proposals to study current school safety methods and new ideas could be worthwhile in that effort by facilitating communication among our schools so officials can learn from one another.”
