State House Speaker Burns introduces school-safety package
ATLANTA – Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns introduced school-safety legislation Monday stemming from last year’s school shooting in Barrow County that killed two teachers and two students.
The comprehensive proposal calls for improvements in information sharing among schools through a new anonymous app, increases penalties for those who make terroristic threats, and provides tax incentives to encourage gun owners to purchase firearm safety storage devices.
“The Georgia House is committed to taking strong action to ensure no parent, student or teacher ever has to fear for their safety when they drop their children off at school, go to class or go to work,” Burns, R-Newington, said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “This school safety plan is a comprehensive approach to securing our school buildings, prioritizing the mental health of our children and keeping Georgia’s students safe.”
A 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, Colt Gray, was arrested at the scene of the shooting last September and charged with the murders. Gray had just transferred from another school, leading to a provision in the House bill requiring the establishment of a statewide student information sharing database to allow the timely transfer of pertinent student data between school systems, law enforcement officials, and mental health-care professionals.
The legislation also would require schools to use an anonymous reporting app where tips could be evaluated quickly and provided to law enforcement and the necessary personnel across the state as needed.
The measure would provide for the mandatory suspension of students who make threats until law enforcement and school personnel determine the student is cleared to return to school.
And the legislation would offer tax incentives for the purchase of safe gun storage equipment including firearm safes and trigger locks.
Apart from the school safety bill, the House mid-year budget would include funding to establish the student database as well as an additional $50 million for one-time school safety grants, which Gov. Brian Kemp announced last month. Every public school in Georgia would get $68,000 to spend as local school officials see fit.
“Each school system has unique needs and challenges,” said House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Dacula.
Burns and Efstration were joined at Monday’s news conference by Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, Barrow County School System Superintendent Dallas LeDuff, and the parents of Coach Richard Aspinwall, one of the victims of the Apalachee High shooting.