Heitkamp Speaks At 2018 School Resource Officers Safety Convention in West Fargo

Press Release

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp spoke at the North Dakota Association of School Resource Officers' 2018 School Safety Conference hosted in West Fargo about the need to make sure schools continue to be a safe and constructive environments for students to learn.

"Safe and productive school environments set North Dakota's students on a path to success," said Heitkamp. "However, when a student is distracted in the classroom through fear of bullying and harassment, it creates a distraction that will impact their education and hurt their mental health, leading to additional challenges down the road. Teachers, parents, students, mentors, and law enforcement must work together to maintain quality learning environments for students to learn and thrive. Conferences like the one North Dakota's school resource officers are hosting today are key to collaboration that keep schools safe, so that best practices can be shared among schools to keep students safe and reach their full potential."

The North Dakota Association of School Resource Officers is an organization comprised of teachers, law enforcement, mentors, and officers who are dedicated to keeping schools safe. They help school based law enforcement through education and training to fit the unique needs of schools and students.

Heitkamp has been working to stop bullying and discrimination in schools through two pieces of legislation she helped introduce in March. The Safe School Improvement Act would require school districts that receive federal funding to have policies and effective programs in place to respond to bullying and harassment as well as to report data on such incidents to the Department of Education. The other piece of legislation, the Student Non-Discrimination Act, would help protect public school students from bullying, harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Working to address the impacts of traumatic experiences such as bullying, harassment, abuse, and addiction is a top priority for Heitkamp in the U.S. Senate. In March 2017, Heitkamp introduced comprehensive legislation to address and mitigate the detrimental impacts exposure to these experiences can have on children as they grow and develop. The Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act would help to tackle the causes and impacts of trauma by identifying, testing, and disseminating new models of recognizing and supporting children and families that have experienced trauma.

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