As aspiring educators, we believe that schools should be safe for ALL students, teachers, and staff at ALL times. Listed below are links to sources that provide the opportunity for readers to advocate for the protection of students as well as educate themselves on legislation that seeks to make our schools safe. We condemn all gun violence in our schools. Additionally, we encourage our organization’s members to advocate for themselves and for students to create a future where everybody is safe.
Resources
Teaching in the Wake of Violence
An Age-by-Age Guide to Talking to Children About Mass Shootings
Legislation
Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021: increases the amount of time, from 3 business days to a minimum of 10 business days, that a federal firearms licensee must wait to receive a completed background check prior to transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person *passed in the house
Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021: establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties *passed in the house
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021: authorizes and establishes procedures for federal courts to issue extreme risk protection orders (a federal court order that prohibits a person from purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition)
Safer Schools Act of 2021: establishes a pilot program through which the Department of Justice must award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to conduct independent facility security risk assessments and make hard security improvements
Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2021: requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices for use by state and local educational and law-enforcement agencies, institutions of higher education, health professionals, and the public
EAGLES Act of 2021: reauthorizes the National Threat Assessment Center and expands them to include the establishment of a national program on targeted school violence prevention
Jaime’s Law: to prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers
Stetson NAfME Collegiate 