In response to the latest school shooting in Nashville, Oregon lawmakers are discussing how to better protect students in the event of an active shooter.
One of those proposed ways is through a threat assessment program.
On Wednesday, House lawmakers on both sides expressed support for a bill that would direct the Oregon Department of Education to study the feasibility of bringing the Salem-Keizer threat assessment program to all Oregon school districts.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools created the program more than 20 years ago to prevent shootings on campus.
Using a team of school psychologists, members of law enforcement, and the community, it’s a program that teaches people how to quickly identify threatening behaviors made by a student and intervene before potential acts of violence.
The study relies on reports from other students, staff, and the community about any student who has expressed an interest in harming others, either in conversations, written communications, or on social media.
Representative Jeff Helfrich is the sponsor of Bill 3348. As an alumnus of Columbine High School, he says school safety is personal to him.
“If there had been an early and often intervention, we may have had different outcomes,” he said.
On Wednesday, Helfrich requested an amendment that the bill be combined with two other school safety bills:
- House Bill 3350 – Direct the Department of Education to identify cost and funding sources to improve school safety
- House Bill 3261 – Direct the Department of Education to identify a secure point of entry for each public school
The bills have received bipartisan support. Democratic Representative Ricki Ruiz testified alongside Helfrich Wednesday.
“We just feel that these two bills do go hand in hand and I urge this committee to please consider this amendment and support this legislation,” he said.