House Passes STOP School Violence Act

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4909, the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, introduced by Representative John Rutherford on January 30, 2018. This legislation would reauthorize the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Secure Our Schools program which provides local law enforcement, school personnel, and students with the tools they need to proactively prevent a threat. This bill also authorizes $75 million annually for states and local schools to invest in the development and operation of threat assessment teams, anonymous reporting systems for students, intervention methods for school personnel and law enforcement, and facilitate coordination between school and law enforcement officials.

“As a co-sponsor of this bill, I am glad the House acted quickly to pass this important legislation and begin the process of securing our schools. While we can never have complete security, the aftermath of the Parkland shooting has demonstrated systemic failures on multiple levels which must be corrected if we are to be in the best position to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again. Our children are the most valuable commodity we have and must be protected at all costs. Investing in our children’s futures means we must invest in their safety, and that starts with developing new methods of threat prevention and increasing coordination between local and federal law enforcement”.

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