Sen. Doug Jones teamed up with republican David Perdue to introduce the School Safety Clearinghouse Act, which would detail best practices for school security design through recommendations by engineers, architects, first responders, mental health advocates and building security experts.
Last year, Jones cosponsored the STOP School Violence Act, which gave some school districts more access to state and federal funding to improve school security. This new act would provide districts with information on how to use that money wisely.
“Children deserve to go to school and learn in a safe environment,” Jones said. “School leaders should always have the resources they need in order to protect our children and their teachers. Our bipartisan bill is a smart step to get more information to communities about how they can make their schools as safe as possible.”
The Clearinghouse would be managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It would not advocate for any specific weapons or technology or create mandates for school districts.
The bill follows a December 2018 recommendation by the Federal Commission on School Safety to create a clearinghouse detailing school security.
