State legislators, including Assemblyman Josh Jensen (R,C-Greece) and Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia), made a presentation of new school safety proposals they hope to implement statewide. Following a statewide tour with input from several education professionals, mental health professionals, parents, law enforcement officials and the public, the Assembly Minority Task Force on School Safety & Security is offering changes to increase law enforcement’s presence in schools, better address mental health in schools and harden infrastructure at schools.
“As a parent myself, it is deeply troubling to see acts of mass violence occur, threats leveled against our schools and violence against students and staff. Students and teachers deserve to go to school each day without the worry of someone making a threat to seriously harm them,” Jensen said. “We must look to address the lack of mental health assistance in schools, identify and enhance school safety measures, implement plans that will help guarantee our children are safe and protected and foster greater communication between all stakeholders in our school communities. This is a non-partisan issue and as lawmakers it is critical that we look at the ways in which we can greater ensure the safety of our schools. It is our duty, and I will continue to advocate for the safety of our children.”
“We’ve seen too often, both in this state and nationwide, that our children are the primary victims of school attacks, yet we haven’t had a comprehensive response plan until now,” Hawley said. “My colleagues in the task force have done extensive research and collaborated with dozens of professionals across multiple disciplines to help find ways to fill in the cracks and look after our children better, and their proposals are all entrancing. I am fully committed to investigating and implementing these proposals to ensure our kids are safe as they do their work.”
Hawley himself is also pushing his legislation (A.2023), which will help recruit more retired experienced law enforcement officers to serve as school resource officers by increasing the outside income cap from $30,000 to $50,000. To combat the cost of employing these officers, a high percentage of it will be eligible for reimbursement by the state.
“New York’s children are amazing, achieving trailblazers. They deserve all the opportunities to succeed in a safe and protected environment. We can provide that to them here and now,” Hawley concluded.
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