(CBS-DETROIT) — A series of bills, including those introduced in the wake of the Oxford High School shooting more than three years ago, are finally awaiting final approval from Michigan lawmakers.
The package of bills would require stricter procedures in response to school emergencies and more mental health support for students, among other things.
“In the event of an emergency, we want to make sure that everyone is on the same page, everyone is using the same terminology and that there is no confusion,” State Rep. Kelly Breen said during testimony last week.
The bill also includes requirements for schools to establish a behavioral threat assessment protocol.
“Oxford had a threat assessment policy; it was not implemented, and we have seen the terrible consequences of that,” Breen said.
The House Education Committee voted late last week to advance the bills to the full House. The movement on the bills comes after gun violence survivors and school safety advocates called on lawmakers to introduce the bills.
“We strongly support linking school safety to student mental health because the two are truly inseparable,” said Thomas Morgan, a spokesman for the Michigan Education Association.
However, some lawmakers argued that the package of bills would exclude religious schools because members of the clergy are not considered mental health professionals. That’s something Tim Schmig of the Michigan Association of Christian Schools wants to see changed before the final vote.
“So number one, everyone is in favor of school safety,” Schmig said. “We believe that a pastor who would be on-site, a youth pastor or someone to whom parents have entrusted their children should be qualified to be a counselor, and not necessarily a mental health professional provided by the state .”
Republican state Rep. Donni Steele says she would have liked to see a bigger bill that addresses even more school safety issues, but she says she will vote for it.
“I think we should have paid more attention to safety, children, schools and less to politics,” she said.
The full Michigan House will consider and vote on the bill later this week.
