Safe and Sound Schools Urges Broad Support for the “STOP School Violence Act of 2018”

Working with Secure Schools Alliance on shaping school safety recommendations

NEWTOWN, Conn. – March 5, 2018 – Safe and Sound Schools, a non-profit organization that delivers crisis-prevention, response, and recovery programs for schools to ensure safety, today announced its strong support for the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, introduced in the Senate on March 5, 2018. Safe and Sound Schools has been working with the Secure Schools Alliance to shape the school safety recommendations for this important legislation.

“Our focus has always been —and will remain— on school safety, and from our work throughout the country, we know schools desperately need the funding and attention to safety afforded by this bill,” said Michele Gay, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Safe and Sound Schools, and member of the board of directors of the Secure Schools Alliance. “Although school safety is a growing concern, our schools lack the resources and support to implement effective measures. While federal assistance alone could never fully address these needs, we feel this bill could make a major impact, and it’s an important first step in ensuring the safety of our nation’s school communities.”

The STOP Act answers a long overdue and nationwide need for school safety funding to provide critical infrastructure improvements, evidence-based education, training, and support, and modern-day security tools and technology that support comprehensive school safety. By reviving and significantly expanding grants through the U.S. Department of Justice, the STOP Act will greatly help schools struggling to implement critical safety programs and security measures, authorizing $100 million in funding per year through 2028. The bill also updates the program to help schools utilize the most effective technology, equipment, training programs and technical assistance that align with the unique needs of each school community.

Despite a critical lack of funding for and attention to school safety in recent years, Safe and Sound Schools has been working tirelessly and persistently in schools and professional communities across the nation to provide free tools, resources, education, and training on crisis prevention, response, and recovery. Safe and Sound Schools has joined with national experts, practitioners, survivors, and victims of school-based tragedies to offer programs and resources to enable every school and every community to develop its own solutions for comprehensive school safety. In less than five years, Safe and Sound Schools has reached every state in the nation and 13 countries. The organization understands it will take a truly layered approach to return our schools to safety, and the STOP Act is a critical step in that process.

For more information about Safe and Sound Schools, including its crisis-prevention, response, and recovery programs and resources for schools, visit safeandsoundschools.org.

About Safe and Sound Schools

Founded in 2013, Safe and Sound Schools works with school communities and mental health, law enforcement, and safety professionals to create and ensure the safest possible learning environment for all youth. The non-profit organization, started by parents who lost their children in the tragedy at Sandy Hook, delivers crisis-prevention, response, and recovery programs, tools, and resources, backed by national experts, to educate all members of the school community, from students and parents, to teachers and administrators, to law enforcement and local leaders. Winner of the 2015 SBANE New England Innovation Award for nonprofits, Safe and Sound Schools continues to answer the growing needs of school communities with custom programs, assessments, and training, reaching schools in nearly every state in the country. For more information, visit safeandsoundschools.org.

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