School safety panel urges more security
A task force created earlier this year to study school safety issues in Pennsylvania released its final recommendations for improvement Monday, including expanding student access to mental health services and increasing the presence of school police officers to “provide support and build positive relationships.”
The Pennsylvania School Safety Task Force, spearheaded by Gov. Tom Wolf and Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, was formed in March, just weeks after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead.
The task force held several town hall-style meetings across the state and collected nearly 800 online survey responses about what residents and educators want to improve about school climate and safety.
“Every Pennsylvania student deserves to learn in a safe, respectful and inclusive school environment,” the report reads. “While Pennsylvania has taken important steps to improve student safety and well-being through policy, funding and programmatic interventions in recent years, more work is needed to ensure that all students feel safe and supported.”
Among the group’s top recommendations was more funding for added security and additional support, even beyond the $60 million that lawmakers allocated this year for schools to use for a variety of security upgrades or safety programming.
The task force also suggested improvements to things like communication and information sharing among schools, state agencies and law enforcement; hiring more mental health personnel and social workers to address students’ needs in schools; providing more training for educators to assess and respond to bullying, violence and bias; developing a statewide, approvedvendor list for school security services; and conducting active shooter and safety drills.
“I commend the work of all those who participated in the task force — especially the students — for providing their incredible perspectives,” Mr. Wolf said in a statement in the report summary. “It was clear in every region of the state that keeping our schools safe requires a holistic approach focused on students and our communities so that our classrooms can be focused on learning.”