Responding to Our Call of Duty to Enhance School Security
ESA has long advocated and will continue to advocate for school security improvements at the federal and state levels. We have supported well over a dozen bills during the 118th Congress. Unfortunately, with each national tragedy, including the recent school shootings in Iowa, Tennessee, and Georgia, we see a rush of bill introductions but a lack of sustained interest by lawmakers to push them through.
Thankfully, many states have not waited for the federal government to increase spending on this issue and have passed their own legislation. However, Congress remains the strongest arm of government with the ability to focus on and allocate more substantial funding, empowering schools with the resources needed to improve their security systems and tackle the issue of violence head-on.
On September 10th, Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who serves Iowa’s 1st District, hosted ESA’s Government Insider to discuss her bill, HR 7357, also known as the Securing Our Schools Act of 2024. This legislation, introduced in February of this year, has yet to gain major support from House leadership. During the interview, it was suggested that this important bill could receive backing during the lame-duck session.
A lame-duck session occurs when Congress meets after an election but before the new Congress is seated, usually from November to early January. It often allows members of Congress to consider bipartisan legislation that might otherwise hurt their re-election chances or that of their colleagues. These sessions have become increasingly interesting over the last few decades as polarization has risen in the United States, while the setup of the session remains unchanged. In many parliaments around the world, newly elected representatives assume office soon after the election. However, the United States holds elections in early November but waits to seat new members in January. This gap can sometimes work in favor of passing much-needed legislation, such as measures to better equip schools with technological solutions to prevent senseless and tragic acts of violence. Congresswoman Miller-Meeks believes the lame-duck session might be an ideal time to push for enhanced school security measures.
Most school security bills in Congress, including Miller-Meeks’ proposal, would allow previously allocated COVID-19 funding to be redirected toward school safety enhancements. However, this has met resistance from some members who would prefer to reclaim unused funds to reduce the debt or reallocate them to other projects. There is also opposition from those concerned that increased spending on security equipment and systems could disproportionately impact marginalized students, leaving them feeling less safe.
The lame-duck session may be crucial for Congress to come together and take action to advance school security initiatives before the new Congress convenes. During the interview, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks assured us that if the bill does not pass during the lame-duck session, she will continue to advocate for it if re-elected. As an industry, we hope it gets done. There is still time to draw attention to the importance of this legislation.
ESA’s ongoing campaign empowers members to support the HR 7357 Securing Our Schools Act of 2024 by visiting esaweb.org/advocacy, where they can click on the campaign and email their representatives, urging them to support the bill. However, if Congress fails to pass this critical legislation, we will be back at square one, continuing our efforts to push for new measures and more funding to secure our schools and protect students, teachers, and staff.
As stewards of security and life safety, ESA will continue to advocate for and protect our nation’s schoolchildren and the educators who serve them in every way possible.
