‘Skinny’ school safety bill earns unanimous approval from education committee

Senators shrug off concerns of public school lobby

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

PIERRE – A little over two weeks after Brent Hoffman’s Senate colleagues scrapped a bill that would have – among other things – required an armed presence in every school building, they easily passed a scaled back version of a new school safety bill.

Senators on the Education Committee voted to advance the freshman lawmaker’s bill, which would require that any unlocked schools during regular business hours be watched, either physically or remotely. 

Additionally, schools would be required to publicize online and in-person a school safety tip line – currently operated by the state’s Department of Public Safety. 

“I never intended to bring back a second school safety bill,” Hoffman said. “But I worked with educators, parents, and committee members and heard encouragement to work on it, that is why you see this before you today.” 

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