SHREVEPORT, La.-In gentle of previous and up to date college shootings, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Training is making an attempt to strengthen college security within the state.
A decision was handed that would assist beef up college safety throughout the state.
Whereas some parishes like in Louisiana are absolutely outfitted with college useful resource officers or SRO’s, numbers present that will not be the case for all faculties within the state, in accordance with Michael Melerine who represents District 4 on the board of schooling.
“I appeared into it a bit bit extra and realized in November of 2020, the state division of schooling carried out a survey of public and constitution faculties within the state and of that, about 1250 responded–of that 1250, about 67% of them indicated they’d a useful resource officer or liaison officer on campus,” mentioned Melerine.
Nevertheless, 500 faculties didn’t reply to that survey, Melerine says. He says assuming these faculties haven’t got a useful resource officer, then it could imply lower than half of the faculties throughout the state are with out an SRO.
The brand new decision from BESE is searching for to require college methods to have an SRO current on college campuses and develop relationships with native legislation enforcement.
It might require officers to be licensed by a nationally accredited SRO program or related coaching.
College methods are additionally requested to yearly report the whole variety of SROs to the state division of schooling.
BESE says the purpose of the decision is to enhance college security and provides lecturers and fogeys extra peace of thoughts in gentle of latest tragic college taking pictures occasions, nonetheless, that degree of safety comes at a worth.
“They price cash. That is why, along with asking each college to have one, I need to ask the legislature to totally fund it,” says Melerine.
State lawmakers will resolve if that funding will probably be supplied, however at the least one lawmaker feels the state is already doing sufficient to guard youngsters.
Rep. Larry Bagely, District 7, says the state’s college methods and authorities have finished a “nice job” defending college students, citing Louisiana’s lack of faculty taking pictures emergencies which have made it to the nationwide degree.
For a number of years now Rep. Bagley has been the chairman of the state’s Well being and Welfare Committee.
He says defending youngsters has been a precedence lengthy earlier than latest occasions, just like the lethal college taking pictures in Nashville in March of 2023.
In the meantime, the state board of schooling will proceed to work with lawmakers in an effort to safe funding for statewide SROs in Louisiana.
“For me that is just the start. That is simply the beginning. I’ll keep up a correspondence with our native delegation and members throughout the state and I will inform them ‘let’s discover a approach to get this funded,’” Melerine.
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