Skip to main content

Davis Journal

What needs to be done to make schools safer?

Jun 06, 2022 11:39AM ● By Becky Ginos

BOUNTIFUL—The whole country mourned together when 19 children and two adults were killed in an elementary school shooting in Texas last week. It’s one of the worst mass shootings but unfortunately not the first. Now people are asking what can be done to stop such tragedies.

“We don’t think about it until something horrible happens,” said Rep. Ray Ward, who sponsored HB120 in 2019 to try and address the issue. “The bill had three parts. One was to set aside money for physical improvements in schools for safety. It didn’t get funded because no one was in agreement of what we really need to make them safe.”

Some schools have improved traffic flow with a single entry and intercom system, he said. “People will sell you safe rooms and iron bars but there was no agreement on how money should be spent to make things better.”

The bill also set aside money for more counselors, said Ward. “These things add up to why there is an increase in adolescent suicide. It’s worth the time and effort to deal with that. The dollar amount got moved over to another similar bill so the idea still got funded.”

A state school safety office was also set up, he said. “Everyone was debating this or that system. We needed a central point with people who have expertise in education, expertise in mental health and law enforcement all working at the same time on school safety. Then they’re all familiar with the evidence of what works to make it safer for our students.”

There is the SafeUT app that is a warning system to identify anyone who might be violent or thinking about committing suicide, said Ward. “That didn’t come from this bill but it’s a piece of the things we do to make schools safer.”

Ward said there’s only so much that can be done without damaging student learning. “It’s like COVID—we sent all the kids home and it affected their learning. We can choose to make our schools an armed prison but it makes it hard to use the building for what needs to be done.”

The playground is still sitting out there in the open, he said. “A school is just where you have a large number of students, teachers and community that come together.”

Although he ran HB120 Ward doesn’t have any new bills slated for the upcoming session. “We’d need to go back to the office that’s been working on it the last two and a half years,” he said. “All the experts who have looked at studies and data and say ‘please tell me what we can do better and I’ll run it.’ Then I’d take it before the legislature and I think they’d give deference to it. I don’t know what policy would make it better. Just be kind to your neighbor.”  l