The California State Senate passed a bill that says teachers or staff are no longer required to report school threats made by students.
The bill essentially repeals an existing law that states whenever a school official is “attacked, assaulted, or physically threatened by any pupil” staff was “required to promptly report the incident to specified law enforcement authorities.”
SB 1273, was introduced by Democrat State Sen. Steven Bradford and passed just days after 19 children and two teachers were killed in Uvalde, Texas when an 18-year-old walked into Robb Elementary School and opened fire.
The Bill has been endorsed by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which says it promotes racial equity,
“Once students make contact with law enforcement, they are less likely to graduate high school and more likely to wind up in jail or prison. These harms fall disproportionately on students from marginalized groups: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students, as well as students with disabilities, are disproportionately referred to law enforcement, cited, and arrested”
Sen. Bradford said that the existing system of reporting violent threats against school officials has led to ‘alarming disparities’ to “Black students, Latinx students, students of color, and students with disabilities.”
However, State Sen. Melissa Melendez took to the Senate floor saying the bill will lead to another 2018 Parkland, Florida type mass shooting adding that Obama’s PROMISE program – which discouraged reporting assaults and threats made by minority students – helped lead to the shooting.
In a statement, Melendez said:
“I can’t believe that just two days after the heartbreaking events in Texas, the State Senate would pass a measure making our children less safe at school. … Requiring teachers to report threats of violence in the classroom may be the only warning law enforcement has to prevent a future violent attack,” she added,
“Threats of violence deserve the attention of law enforcement. … Parents should feel safe sending their kids to school. Eliminating the mandatory reporting requirement, by passing SB 1273, makes our schools more susceptible to a repeat of what happened in Texas – and that is unacceptable.”
The bill now heads to the State Assembly for vote, and then to Gov. Gavin Newsom for signature.
