(The Center Square) – School safety legislation is a priority for Michigan’s House this session, as a package of bills supporters say will make schools safer slowly make their way through the legislature.
Of the 11 bills that are a part of the package, eight successfully passed the House in May, but the Senate has yet to take them up.
The other three all stalled in committee in the House.
Republicans have called the school safety plan a “landmark” step. All the bills are based on recommendations of the Michigan House’s bipartisan School Safety Task Force, which was formed after the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School.
That shooting took the lives of four students, and lawmakers have said these bills will take important steps to make sure it never happens again.
“Michigan’s mothers and fathers should have the comfort of knowing their children are protected and properly cared for while at school every day,” said State Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond. “The bipartisan school safety plan that we passed through the House . . . will help achieve that by dedicating more resources and professionals to mental health, implementing new safety protocols, and improving responses to school safety crises.”
Many of the bills received bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled House, despite since stalling in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Here is a breakdown of each of the bills that are waiting to be taken up by the Senate.
• House Bill 4222: Requires regular updating of school districts’ emergency response plans.
• House Bill 4223: Ensures safety training for school workers.
• House Bill 4225: Places OK2SAY, Michigan’s student safety tip line, contact info on school ID cards so students can easily report concerns.
• House Bill 4226: Adds more active-shooter drills for schools.
• House Bill 4229: Requires schools to submit a quarterly report of OK2SAY tips to the state’s School Safety and Mental Health Commission.
• House Bill 4258: Ensures that confidential tips submitted to the OK2SAY system are promptly shared with local law enforcement and school officials within 24 hours of submission.
• House Bill 4259: Requires the Department of State Police to notify a school as soon as possible, but not more than 24 hours, after receiving a tip.
• House Bill 4315: Requires the Department of State Police in coordination with the Department of Attorney General and the Michigan Department of Education to develop school safety and security training materials annually.
These bills are just the latest step, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer already signed 19 bills and an executive order intended to enhance school safety into law in January.
In the midst of a budget battle, Republicans also included additional funding for school safety measures in their education budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. That proposal included a full restoration of school resource officers by incentivizing each school district to employ at least one officer.
In the Democrats’ education budget proposal, funding was more focused on student mental health services.
