|
WASHINGTON – U.S.
Sen.
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
joined
a
group
of
13
senators
today
to
introduce
legislation
to
allow
100,000
public
schools
to
improve
school
safety
by
using
federal
dollars
for
school
counselors,
alarm
systems,
security
cameras
and
crisis
intervention
training.
The
School
Safety
&
Mental
Health
Services
Improvement
Act
was
introduced
by
Senators
Lamar
Alexander
(R-TN),
Roy
Blunt
(R-MO),
Bill
Cassidy
(R-LA),
Susan
Collins
(R-ME),
Bob
Corker
(R-TN), John
Cornyn
(R-TX),
Lindsey
Graham
(R-SC),
Chuck
Grassley
(R-IA),
Johnny
Isakson
(R-GA),
Pat
Roberts
(R-KS),
Marco
Rubio
(R-FL),
Tim
Scott
(R-SC),
and
Todd
Young
(R-IN).
“Ensuring
schools
have
the
resources
they
need
to
upgrade
their
infrastructure
is
an
important
step
we
can
take
to
keeping
our
students
and
schools
safe.
This
will
allow
schools
across
South
Carolina
to
use
federal
dollars
for
mental
health
programs,
security
updates
and
more.
As
we
continue
to
work
towards
solutions
on
this
important
topic,
I
want
to
thank
Senator
Alexander
and
my
colleagues
on
the
HELP
Committee
for
their
work
on
this
issue,"
said
Sen.
Scott.
“We
have
drafted
this
legislation
to
help
states
and
communities
keep
schools
safe.
Safe
schools
are
for
the
most
part
a
local
responsibility,
but
in
this
case,
the
federal
government
can
and
should
help.
One
way
to
do
this
is
to
give
states
and
local
school
boards
the
authority
to
use
federal
dollars
in
different
ways
to
make
schools
safer.
For
example,
this
bill
would
allow
Tennessee
to
use
federal
dollars
to
upgrade
school
safety
procedures,
hire
school
counselors
and
develop
mental
health
programs,”
said
Sen.
Alexander,
HELP
Committee
Chairman.
There
are
100,000
public
schools
in
the
United
States
and
state
and
local
governments
provide
about
90
percent
of
public
schools’
funding,
but
the
federal
government
can
and
should
help
create
an
environment
for
communities,
school
boards
and
states
to
create
safer
schools.
Under
The
School
Safety
&
Mental
Health
Services
Improvement
Act,
the
federal
government
can
help
in
the
following
four
ways:
- Encourages
more
school
counselors
and
other
mental
health
professionals
- Encourages
school
safety
infrastructure
upgrades
- Encourages
the
development
of
mental
health
programs
for
crisis
intervention
training
and
mental
health
assessments
- Creates
a
presidential
task
force
to
increase
interagency
communication
Click
here
for
the
text
of
the
legislation
and
click
here
for
a
one-page
summary
of
the
legislation.
### |