The Senate Study Committee on the Safe Firearm Storage met Thursday, Oct. 10. This committee is tasked with studying how securing firearms could reduce violence and death, especially in children. In addition, the committee focused heavily on school safety. Due to the group’s exploration of school safety, PAGE is following and reporting on the work of the committee.
Several groups and individuals spoke during the meeting, and many of these presentations either focused on policies enacted in other states or proposals they wish to see enacted in Georgia.
Texas School Safety Center Presents CAP Laws and Provides Parents Safety Information
Kathy Martinez-Prather, director of the Texas School Safety Center, provided a brief overview of her organization and the resources it provides Texas schools, such as training school-based law enforcement officers and reviewing each district’s emergency operation plan. Following recent legislation, the center is now tasked with providing each school district and open-enrollment charter school with information on safe firearm storage. In turn, districts and schools must disseminate this information to parents.
Martinez-Prather discussed child access prevention (CAP) laws, which apply legal consequences to firearm owners who fail to prevent child access. She stated that such legislation is estimated to decrease firearm-related injuries by 22 percent in states that have adopted such laws. Texas is among the 26 states that have adopted CAP policies.
School Resource Officers and Information Sharing
Chief Ron Applin of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) spoke extensively about school resource officer practices. Committee Chair Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) asked Applin what protocols or rules could be implemented to better identify potentially problematic students and prevent weapons from entering schools. Applin explained the importance of tools like metal detectors and anonymous reporting systems. He stated that knowing about issues students displayed at previous schools would help schools more effectively assist students in need.
Utah Legislation
Utah State House Rep. Steve Eliason (R-Salt Lake) presented several pieces of legislation passed in Utah, including bills aimed at combating gun violence and firearm suicide through strategies such as school district seminars, distribution of trigger locks, and voluntary firearm surrender. Another set of bills led to creating a school safety and crisis tip line called SafeUT. Eliason shared statistics on how this tip line has prevented both suicides and acts of school violence.
Finally, Rep. Eliason spoke to legislation that established mental health screeners for use in schools. These voluntary screeners cannot be administered to students without parental consent.
A copy of Rep. Eliason’s presentation can be found here.
School Social Workers Speak to Funding Issues
Melinda Carson spoke on behalf of School Social Workers Association of Georgia (SSWAG). After describing the function of social workers in schools and their importance in addressing student mental health issues, Carson addressed concerns relating to school social worker staffing and funding levels. She stated the current funding ratio of one social worker for every 2,475 students leaves social workers reacting to crises rather than being able to work proactively. One solution she offered is to shift funding for school social workers from indirect cost funding to direct cost funding in the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula.
A copy of the SSWAG presentation can be found here.
School Social Workers Speak to Funding Issues
Following the presentations, Sen. Jones stated that the committee’s legislative priorities should focus on CAP laws and school safety alert protocols. He also wishes to provide civil and criminal penalties for persons who fail to secure firearms to prevent access by children. Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) stated he would like to ensure that information on student issues follows students when they move from district to district.