WASHINGTON – One month following the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Congressman Mike Bishop (MI-08) voted in favor of H.R. 4909, the bipartisan STOP School Violence Act. Congressman Bishop is a cosponsor of H.R. 4909, which provides funding resources for training and technology aimed to prevent violence from taking place on school grounds. The Stop School Violence Act passed the House by a vote of 407 to 10.
Congressman Bishop said, “Schools should be a safe place for our students to learn and thrive. As a father of three children currently attending public schools, what happened in the Parkland community is every parent’s worst nightmare. When it comes to the safety of our children and enacting sensible security measures, political affiliation is irrelevant. The bipartisan STOP School Violence Act aims to improve the safety of our schools by providing resources to identify threats and enhance technology to help prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future.”
The STOP School Violence Act (H.R. 4909) will provide funding for:
- Student violence prevention training to counter student violence against others and self, including training for local law enforcement officers, school personnel, and students. This prevention training would be designed to give students and school personnel the ability to recognize and respond quickly to warning signs of school violence, and would include active shooter training.
- Technology to improve school security including the development and operation of anonymous reporting systems such as mobile apps, a hotline, and a website. This funding may also be used for metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other technologies to keep schools safe.
- School threat assessment and crisis intervention teams so that school personnel can respond to threats before they materialize.
- More coordination with law enforcement, in particular, with those officers who already staff schools.
The STOP School Violence Act is endorsed by the Sandy Hook Promise, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the National Parent Teachers Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and nearly 30 other health and education organizations.
