The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill requiring active shooter drills in schools wins final OK
Under House Bill 147, which cleared the state Senate this past week with bipartisan support, Georgia school calendars could grow even busier.
Between pop quizzes and school assemblies and recess, you could add active shooter drills.
“Intruder alert” drills would be required in all public schools by Oct. 1 of each year.
It won’t matter if Mom and Dad object. Schools would have the power to force students to participate even if parents protest.
State Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, a former teacher and Atlanta school board member, warned that such drills can trigger trauma in children.
He sought an amendment to require schools to let parents opt their children out of the drills. The legislation says schools “may” let parents decline to have their children participate.
A handful of Republicans backed Esteves’ amendment, but it still failed.
In the words of state Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, who carried the bill in the Senate, HB 147 “modernizes” safety protocols.
The bill, introduced at Gov. Brian Kemp’s request by state Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, also encourages anti-gang training for educators.
Other failed amendments tried to delete the anti-gang language.
The bill would encourage Georgia colleges to teach prospective educators “multidisciplinary best practices” for safety and for “identifying and deterring” youth gangs. It also would call on the state to establish such training for qualified educators who want it.
Senate Minority Caucus Chairwoman Elena Parent of Atlanta voted for the bill, but she was hardly enthusiastic about it: She said it offers only “illusory” protection in schools and “highlights our failure” to control access to guns through universal background checks and other measures.
HB 147 is now headed to Kemp’s desk for his signature.