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Tragedy in Virginia prompts
movement on school safety planning
A measure that would
direct schools to develop safety plans and provide assistance for
emergency response training has regained momentum with just five days
remaining in the 2007 legislative session.
Senate Bill 5097, which had stalled in the House Appropriations
Committee, is now moving through the process again as lawmakers look to
ensure that schools are prepared to respond to campus emergencies in the
wake of the tragic shooting Monday at Virginia Tech.
“The issue of school safety is something we’re consistently working to
improve, and now emergency response planning has taken on a new degree
of significance,” said House Republican Leader
Richard DeBolt,
R-Chehalis. “The lesson from the tragedy in Virginia is that there
is a need for advanced planning and training to respond decisively when
emergencies occur. We want to help our schools be prepared, and this
bill will offer them more resources to conduct the planning and training
they need.”
House Republicans approached majority Democrats on Tuesday, at the
urging of Rep. Richard Curtis, R-La Center, to request moving the bill
to address school safety planning. The effort found immediate bipartisan
support.
“It’s not our intention to overreact, but when something like this
occurs, lawmakers have to ask if there is anything we can do to make our
schools better prepared for these types of emergencies,” said Curtis,
who serves on the School Safety Center Advisory Committee. “Lawmakers
have five more days in this legislative session, and we agree that this
bill shouldn’t languish in committee while we’re here and still have a
chance to do something to help improve school safety.
Curtis and DeBolt lauded the Senate sponsors who had the
foresight to introduce and pass the measure earlier in the session.
Senate Bill 5097 passed the Senate unanimously. The bill provides grants
for K-12 schools to conduct emergency response plans and conduct monthly
drills for various emergencies, including natural disasters, fires and
threats from intruders. During floor action lawmakers went on the record
to express their intent to expand safety planning at Washington’s
colleges and universities in the future.
The 2007 legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on Sunday.
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