Bills
| 3.23.22

Reauthorizing and Increasing Grants for School Safety Measures (H.R. 4909)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 4909?

(Updated January 10, 2019)

This bill — the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 — would reauthorize the Secure Our Schools grant program with $50 million annually through fiscal year 2028. The program is currently funded with $30 million annually. Grants could be used for: 1) training law enforcement, school personnel, and students; 2) developing and operating anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence (including hotlines, websites, and mobile apps); 3) security assessments & coordination with local law enforcement; 4) installing & using deterrent measures like metal detectors and locks; 5) other measures that may provide significant improvement in security.

Argument in favor

This is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that’d provide an additional $20 million annually to help schools implement violence prevention programs to keep kids safe.

Argument opposed

Reauthorizes and increasing grant funding for school violence prevention programs isn’t enough to end violence at schools, more action than this bill is needed.

Impact

Students, teachers, schools, and law enforcement that’d utilize the grants; and the Dept. of Justice’s Secure Our Schools program.

Cost of H.R. 4909

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) introduced this bill to boost school efforts to develop violence prevention programs and coordinate with law enforcement to improve school safety:

“As a career police officer and sheriff for 12 years in my hometown of Jacksonville, I know first-hand the importance of communities working together with their law enforcement agencies to keep people safe. This bill invests in early intervention and prevention programs in our local schools, so that our communities and law enforcement can be partners in preventing violent events from happening. We need to give students, teachers, and law enforcement the tools and training they need to identify warning signs and to know who to contact when they see something that is not right.”

This legislation has the support of 71 bipartisan cosponsors, including 47 Republicans and 24 Democrats.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Lance Cpl. Antwaun Jefferson / Public Domain)