As previously reported, it has been a busy legislative season in state houses across the nation with dozens of legislatures considering school safety-related bills. The latest proposal comes from Colorado, where a bipartisan team of legislators has proposed CO SB 23-241 which would create an Office of School Safety within the Department of Public Safety (DPS). If passed, the Office would do several things, including:
- Overseeing the School Safety Resource Center (SSRC)
- Implementing a newly created crisis response unit to assist schools in responding to a crisis or emergency event
- Overseeing the School Access for Emergency Response Grant Program (SAFER), which is currently in the Division of Homeland Security in DPS
- Administering a new Youth Violence Prevention Grant Program to provide grants of up to $100,000 to schools, community organizations, and local governments to address youth violence
The bill passed the Colorado State Senate but was amended by the Colorado State House and thus must be reconsidered by the State Senate. NABITA will continue to monitor the bill’s progress.