Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Having passed the State Senate, the bills are now under consideration by the Assembly committees on Education, Codes and Governmental Employees.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The State Senate recently approved a wide-ranging package of seven bills to increase safety and security in city schools, according to Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach).
The proposed measures, which are being considered in Assembly committees, would:
• Require that all public and private schools conduct at least two “active shooter” drills each year, and enable principals to consult with State School Safety Improvement Teams (consisting of representatives of the State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Division of State Police, and Division of Criminal Justice Services) on how to best perform these exercises;
• Allow schools to receive recommendations from State School Safety Improvement Teams to improve security in their buildings, and provide them with funding to implement the suggested changes;
• Expand the ability of school districts to receive State funding for security hardware and software safety technology;
• Raise the income restriction from $30,000 to $50,000 for retired police officers working as school resource officers;
• Require that a police officer be stationed at all New York City public and private schools an hour before classes begin, during daily instructional hours, and an hour after classes conclude;
• Extend peace officer status to retired police officers employed by school districts as school resource officers, and prohibit these officers from carrying weapons unless otherwise permitted by law;
• Elevate the penal law degree of violent crimes committed on school grounds to one category higher, as in increasing assault in the second degree from a class D felony to the more serious class C felony.
“The massacre in Parkland, Florida was the most recent school shooting to violently rob students and beloved educators of their lives,” said Addabbo, the ranking member of the Senate Education Committee. “While it will clearly take more action in the areas of mental health, gun reform and other measures to fully address these horrendous incidents, both in schools and elsewhere, providing more safety and security in our classrooms is an important goal to pursue.”
On Wednesday, students across the five boroughs and the country took their own action on safety and security at school. Children of all ages organized and walked out of their classrooms and buildings for 17 minutes at 10 a.m. in memory of the 17 students who were gunned down in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The coordinated effort was a call to action on gun violence that uniquely plagues the United States.
“While the horrendous and fatal shootings at movie theatres, concerts, night clubs and schools in recent years have broken all of our hearts, and have led to calls for action, the Stoneman Douglas High School killings on Feb. 14 have especially galvanized our country around the issue of ending gun violence,” Addabbo added. “While there isn’t one simple solution to ensuring that innocent people aren’t gunned down in places where they should fully expect to feel safe, taking steps to better secure our schools is a vital piece of the puzzle.”
