Little money included for lawmakers' school safety suggestions

Lawmakers heard from police and prosecutors, nurses and social workers, security experts and firearms trainers in crafting the 15 recommendations, which cover everything from school emergency drills to more staff to address students' mental health.

One recommendation would set aside $5 million for statewide funding for a mobile app that allows students to anonymously report threats or dangers. The SpeakUp app was tested in five counties in recent years, including Johnston County, and Rep. Donna White, R-Johnston, noted that someone usually comes forward after a mass shooting to say they suspected the crime might happen.

"Over 170 deaths could have been prevented if that one person had had a way or had been heard or had spoke up, and that's what the SpeakUp [app] for the anonymous tip line does for students," White said.

Another recommendation calls for more money and required training for armed school resource officers statewide. Rep. John Faircloth, R-Guilford, said an increased law enforcement presence in schools could help improve police relationships with youths.

"These are going to be better trained officers who are particularly selected by their agencies to be in that school environment and to interact with those children," said Faircloth, a retired police chief.

But Rep. Darren Jackson, D-Wake, said the proposed legislation includes only a tiny fraction of the $80 million needed to put an armed, trained SRO in every school.

"We're funding $1.8 million. I'm not exactly sure which kids we're deciding not to protect," Jackson said.

The committee's proposals recommend more spending on other items, such as mental health programs to more hiring more schools nurses and counselors, but they don't include the hard budget numbers it would take to meet all those recommendations.

Jackson questioned whether Republican leaders would find the money to make the ideas a reality.

"I believe this is a necessary bill, but don't fool yourself – this bill is nowhere near sufficient," he said. "We have not done hardly anything to address this problem and this real danger in our schools."

Rep. Josh Dobson, R-McDowell, said the proposals are a first step, and he expressed confidence the General Assembly would pass them this summer.

"These are not insufficient recommendations. Do we need to do more? Of course," Dobson said. "We can't ever do enough to keep our children as safe as we think they should be, but these are concrete recommendations to keep our schools safer."

Jackson and Kate Harshbarger, of the gun-control group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, expressed disappointment that lawmakers didn't even discuss changes to state gun laws, such as adopting a so-called "red flag law" that would allow police to take guns away from people whom a judge rules to be an imminent threat to themselves or others.

"The red flag law, I think that's an important thing that a lot of other states are discussing, and I think it is closely connected to school safety," Harshbarger said.

The committee also didn't address the idea of arming teachers, which President Donald Trump has proposed and which some lawmakers support. Polls have shown most teachers are opposed to the idea.