Every child has the right to a safe and healthy learning environment. Violence is not limited to gun violence, nor is it limited to schools; yet we have faced unyielding grief in the wake of many tragedies that have occurred within our schools across the country. In response, the Michigan House of Representatives formed a bipartisan task force back in 2021, to address the serious issues of student safety and school security.
This committee was tasked with studying school safety procedures and identifying best practices to address the mental health needs of students. The goal was to find solutions that keep students, educators and school personnel safe, while ensuring proper funding could be made available to help schools make future improvements within their districts.
Through collaboration and discussion, six policy areas emerged as the primary focus of the Task Force’s work:
- Mental Health: The affordability and accessibility that is available to students, as well as identifying students that need more targeted assistance.
- Physical Space: Structural and security improvements such as double entranceways, sufficient door locking devices, surveillance systems and other physical defenses.
- Processes & Procedures: This would include standardizing protocols, threat assessments and safety procedures.
- Staffing/Personnel: Retention, recruitment and training of educators and support staff.
- Education & Public Service Information: Integrating social emotional learning methods and other behavioral awareness and violence prevention programs.
- Criminal Justice: Disciplinary issues and restorative justice protocols need to be addressed.
In September 2022, the Michigan Legislature allocated funding through Section 97c of the State School Aid Act Supplemental for all public and non-public schools to improve school safety. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) authorized grant funding to be available for schools to conduct comprehensive safety and security assessments.
One month later, SEC founder and President Jason Russell was appointed to the newly created School Safety and Mental Health Commission. The School Safety and Mental Health Commission provides recommendations to reduce youth suicides and strengthen the mental health of school-aged children, adolescents and their families through a comprehensive statewide approach.
Safety and security is a multi-faceted issue that will require multi-faceted solutions. Every school district has unique needs, so it is impossible to find a “one-size fits all” approach to ensuring the physical and mental safety of all Michigan’s children. Over the 2022-2023 academic year, SEC conducted over 1,300 onsite site assessments and nearly 50 onsite training courses to schools across the entire state of Michigan. Our goal is to evaluate vulnerabilities that may exist with both physical security and emergency preparedness and provide recommendations that are realistic and customized to each school district we serve.