WASHINGTON — On June 5, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the Federal Commission on School Safety, a commission formed last March in response to the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, won’t be looking into the role of guns in schools.

In March 2018, President Donald J. Trump appointed DeVos to lead the Federal Commission on School Safety for swifty providing substantial and proactive recommendations to reform student safety and security at school. These recommendations include a focus on various issues, such as social emotional support, effective school safety infrastructure, discussion on minimum age for firearms purchases and the impact that video games and the media may have on violence. After the launch of the commission, a White House statement announced that they would study and make recommendations on “age restrictions for certain firearm purchases.”

After Democratic Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy asked DeVos whether the commission would study how firearms relate to gun violence in schools, DeVos stated that the commission wouldn’t be leading that charge, and will instead focus on ensuring safety and security at schools. Sen. Leahy also questioned DeVos on whether she believes that an 18-year-old should be able to procure an AR-15 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, with her answering that the issue was up for debate.

This response caused a stir in the subcommittee, with senators adamantly underlining that the commission was made to explore all aspects of gun violence in schools, and that pre-emptive measures cannot be accomplished without questioning the role of firearms.

Following the meeting, Sen. Patty Murray, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, expressed her concerns in a letter to DeVos toward the commission’s “failure to act” and asked whether the NRA had influenced the process on June 11.

Education Department spokeswoman, Liz Hill, came to DeVos defense saying that the NRA is absolutely not involved with the commission, stating that it’s important to recognize that the commission cannot create or amend current gun laws — that only lawmakers are responsible for those changes.

Hill maintained last week that the commission will continue to pursue what the President initially ordered the commission to study.

Bob Farrace, a spokesman for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) went to Twitter to address DeVos’ statements, calling her testimony “farcical.” However, he stated, he hopes that Secretary DeVos will at least no longer push for more guns in school, referring to Trump’s suggestion of allowing professionally trained teachers to be armed at schools.

The formal meetings include Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, as well as subject matter experts. This group of administration officials, DeVos said, is taking their cues from the White House, and remains “focused on making recommendations that the agencies, states and local communities can implement”, as reported by ABCNews.

DeVos promised to release a report from the school safety commission by the end of the year.

Since the beginning of 2018, there have been 23 school shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive Organization. These shootings included nine incidents that involved no deaths and no gunshot injuries, two suicides and three unintentional discharges of a firearm (although one caused injuries), while five were defined as a mass shooting.

The post Betsy DeVos Says School Safety Commission Will Not Focus on Guns appeared first on School Construction News.

WASHINGTON — In scenes reminiscent of the Free Speech and Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s, thousands across the nation rallied in the March for Our Lives protest to advocate for gun control on Saturday, March 25. The nation’s capital was the locus of much of the protestor’s energy with more than 800 sibling events simultaneously organized throughout the country. The protests were spurred by fury over shootings that have occurred at schools and deadly police encounters, which have received escalating awareness over the past decade — and have changed school security and design as we know it.

Survivors of the recent shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that resulted in the deaths of 17 students and staffers in Florida, spearheaded the march, which was preceded by the mass National Student Walkout the prior week.

Parkland survivor 18-year-old Emma González, who has emerged as one of the many impassioned voices of the movement.

“Every single person up here today, all these people should be home grieving. But instead, we are up here standing together because if all our government and President can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it’s time for victims to be the change that we need to see,” González decried in what many observed was a historic speech.

After naming the victims of the Parkland massacre, González held a prolonged moment of silence as onlookers chanted “Never again!” Tears streamed down her face. Suffice it to say, her silence spoke volumes. Some participants began to worry that González would not be able to continue — an organizer even gently approached her to check in. Then a timer beeped and González spoke again: “Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle,” she said, recounting the events of the shooting. Many in the media remarked upon the power of González’ speech.

.@Emma4Change holding this silence is one of the most remarkable political moments I’ve seen. #MarchForOurLives

— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) March 24, 2018

According to the Washington Post, protestors began rallying along Pennsylvania Avenue at noon, coalescing into a legion of about half a million people by some estimates. Closer to the offices of School Construction News, an estimated 2,000 people filled the Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa, Calif., sporting signs that said “Protect Kids, Not the NRA,” “Books, Not bullets” and “Give Teachers Raises, Not Guns,” according to the Press Democrat.

In contrast, the National Rifle Association (NRA), which has been under scrutiny for its pro-gun lobbying efforts, countered on its Facebook page that “Today’s protests aren’t spontaneous. Gun-hating billionaires and Hollywood elites are manipulating and exploiting children as part of their plan to DESTROY the Second Amendment and strip us of our right to defend ourselves and our loved ones.”

The official March for Our Lives website, however, states that the movement supports the Second Amendment:

“We support the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms, as set forth in the United States Constitution. But with that right comes responsibility,” the site reads. “We call on all the adults in Congress elected to represent us, to pass legislation that will protect and save children from gun violence.”

The post March for Our Lives Galvanizes a Nation appeared first on School Construction News.