Sen. Marsha Blackburn Introduces Bill To Harden Private Schools Like Covenant With Enhanced Security, Armed Officers

Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee recently presented a new bill called the Securing Aid for Every (SAFE) School Act. The proposed bill would allocate $900 million of taxpayer dollars to both public and private schools to improve school security measures by hiring armed security guards and strengthening physical defenses of classrooms.

The bill’s provisions would involve offering grants to schools for installing surveillance cameras, metal detectors, alarm systems, and locks. Furthermore, it would provide states with financial leverage to promote the establishment of training and licensing programs for veterans and former law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of both public and private school children.

The bill was presented just a few days after a tragic incident where a shooter took the lives of three 9-year-old students and three staff members at a private Christian school in Nashville. Private schools like Covenant, that did not have armed security guards at the time of the incident, become targets for murderers who seek soft targets. Unlike government schools that receive funding for hardening their buildings, private schools are often responsible for finding and funding school resource officers (SROs) on their own, making it difficult for schools to afford and retain them.

The data shows that schools with good security measures and armed security guards can often deter or prevent violent incidents from happening. However, Democrats have repeatedly blocked legislation that would sponsor and codify stricter security overhauls, which would keep American students from being vulnerable to such attacks.

The proponents of the bill argue that it is the need of the hour to act swiftly to pass this legislation so that students across the nation can be protected from future tragedies.

Andrew Pollack, the father of Parkland victim Medow Pollack, says that “the police reacted bravely in Nashville, but in a shooting every second matters and the SAFE School Act will save lives by ensuring that more schools are guarded by armed security officers.”

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