Improving Security on School Grounds

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, every parent's worst nightmare is to learn that their children's school may be one of the sites of mass violence. Schools should not be a place where our kids have to fear, it should be where they learn, and grow, and follow their dreams.

No child should have to be more concerned about their safety than they are about their science project, band concert, or basketball game.

That is why last year, I and many others introduced the Securing Our Schools Act in the last Congress, passed it on to the President, and it was signed into law.

I was proud that our bipartisan bill passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by the President. The new law creates a Federal grant program for local communities to improve security in their schools.

School districts and law enforcement can use these critical funds to purchase life-saving technology, panic alert systems, communications equipment, cameras, door locks, or to better train authorities when incidents of violence might occur.

Last year, $33 million in grants were allocated to 103 school districts nationwide, making four million students safer. The application process is now open for grants for the 2021 fiscal year.

Please urge local officials, those in your district to visit cops.doj.gov for more information on how to apply for up to $500,000 in grants through the School Violence Prevention Program. Once again, that is cops.doj.gov.

The application deadline for this fiscal year is April 8. Please reach out to your community, community leaders, law enforcement, and local school districts.

We have advanced safety technology in banks, office buildings, and retail locations. There is no reason we shouldn't have this technology at all of our schools to protect all of our children.

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