Federal bill reintroduced to gather data on school shootings
MIAMI - On Tuesday, South Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, along with other representatives, reintroduced The School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act.
"We will never loosen the chokehold opponents of gun safety have on solving this public health crisis until we fully understand the carnage that firearms inflict on Americans, especially on our school campuses, " said Wasserman Schultz.
"The more we know about the dangers that guns pose to our classrooms, the more likely we are to prevent the next Marjorie Stoneman Douglas or Sandy Hook massacre. Protecting students and teachers, and understanding the real dangers they face from firearms, is yet one more political space where all sides can agree that we need to make swift, substantial progress. We just need the data to help identify trends and gaps, and then we can work toward solving it. This legislation would build a sturdy foundation to make schools safer."
The bill seeks to:
● Define "mass shooting" and "school shooting" for the first time in federal law.
● Directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, to annually report on indicators of school safety for each school shooting that occurs. Data includes statistics on school shootings, such as the number of shootings, the number of people killed, demographics of shooters and victims, the motivation of shooters, types of firearms and ammunition used, how the firearm was acquired, and more.
● Directs the Department of Education to collect the safety and prevention protocols in place at a school at the time of the shooting, such as information on the building designs, and communication and response plans.
Reps. Jahana Hayes and Lucy McBath, along with Sen. Michael Bennet joined Wasserman Schultz to introduce the bill to the House and US Senate.
The bill was first introduced in 2020.