Should There be a Federal Definition of ‘School Shooting’ & Annual Report on School Crime? (H.R. 4301)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 4301?
(Updated March 24, 2021)
This bill — the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act — would create a federal definition of a “school shooting.” This would create a single standard definition of such incidents in order to avoid subjective reporting of the circumstances surrounding these events. It would also create an annual School Crime and Safety Report, to be compiled by the Secretary of Education in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS Secretary), which is described in greater detail below.
This report would cover indicators of school crime, including:
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Statistics on school shootings, including the number of shootings, number of people killed, demographics of shooters and victims, shooters’ motivations, types of firearms and ammunition used, and how the firearm was acquired.
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Safety and prevention tactics, such as the existence (or lack thereof) of safety and prevention measures at the time of the shooting (including building designs and communication and response plans).
Argument in favor
Developing a better understanding of school shootings is an important first step in developing policies to make schools safer and prevent these tragedies. Creating a federal definition of “school shooting” and requiring an annual report on associated school crimes would help inform policy that affects school shootings. This would in turn lead to policies that are more effective at keeping students safe.
Argument opposed
This bill is a band-aid solution that won’t actually do anything to address the problem of school shootings. The causes of school shootings are already understood enough to develop policies to address them. Rather than wasting the federal government’s time and resources on yet more reports on this issue, it’d be better to develop and implement policies to actually keep students safe.
Impact
Schools; school shootings; federal report on school crime; Attorney General; Secretary of Education; and Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Cost of H.R. 4301
The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost less than $500,000 each year, and $1 million over the 2020-2024 period.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) introduced this bill to create a federal definition for “school shooting” and instruct the Depts. of Education (ED), Justice (DOJ), and Health and Human Services (HHS) to annually report uniform data on indicators of school crime as it pertains to school shootings:
“Classrooms should be a safe place where parents can have peace of mind that their children will be safe and free to learn. This legislation will help us to gather objective data to better understand how we can come together to prevent the tragedy of mass shootings occurring in our schools.”
In a letter to her Congressional colleagues seeking cosponsors for this bill, Rep. Gabbard writes that this bill would “lay the groundwork necessary to provide uniform data to the American people who grapple with the recurring horror of school shootings as well as policymakers who are responsible for addressing this problem.” She adds, “While thoughts and prayers may help cope with the grief suffered by victims’ families, data-driven policy solutions are needed to help prevent these crimes.”
Original cosponsor Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) adds:
"This bill begins to address a serious problem born of inaction. We can’t manage a problem that we have not measured. It is critical that we gather as much information as possible to prevent future school shootings. I commend Reps. Gabbard and McBath for their efforts in this regard."
The National Education Association (NEA) supports this bill. In a September 17, 2019 letter urging members of the House Education and Labor Committee to vote for this bill, NEA Director of Government Relations Marc Egan wrote:
“NEA members support the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act because it takes a number of steps to track and categorize these tragic incidents, yielding valuable information that will help us safeguard school communities. Gun violence destabilizes us all; no one—least of all children—should have to endure it. We must do all we can to stop the next school shooting from happening. The School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act will help us learn more about these horrific incidents so that we can prevent them.”
This legislation passed the House Education and Labor Committee by a 27-22 vote with the support of 38 Democratic House cosponsors.
A number of gun control and education advocacy organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety, the National Education Association (NEA), National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Sandy Hook Promise, and Council of Great City Schools support this legislation.
Of Note: In a December 2018 report, the Federal Commission on School Safety recommended increasing school safety through intergovernmental cooperation and school safety and crisis training. It did not address firearms.
Media:
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Sponsoring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Press Release
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Sponsoring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Press Release Before Committee Vote
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Sponsoring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) Dear Colleague Letter
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CBO Cost Estimate
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Council of Great City Schools (In Favor)
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Sandy Hook Promise (In Favor)
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National Education Association (NEA) (In Favor)
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Federal Commission on School Safety Report (Context)
Summary by Lorelei Yang
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