In the wake of the recent school shooting at the Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., where two students and two teachers were killed, Frank DeAngelis, the former principal of Columbine High School, made an emotional appeal to members of Congress: Schools need more financial and legislative support to prevent mass gun violence.
DeAngelis was on Columbine’s campus in 1999 at when 12 students and one teacher were killed in a horrific shooting, which has since shaped the national discourse on gun control measures, student mental health, and how to secure schools against violence. Recalling the names of the 13 victims, DeAngelis fought back tears as he addressed Democratic members of Congress on Sept. 23 and appealed for bipartisan support to prevent gun violence.
“They are the reason I’m doing what I’m doing,” DeAngelis said, referring to his advocacy work with schools that have suffered gun violence. “Twenty-five years ago, I went to 13 memorial services. And as I went to these services, I did not see a red or blue casket. We need to come together because they are all our kids, and one more death is one too many.”
DeAngelis was speaking at a congressional roundtable convened by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, D-Fla., Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and other Democrats to address what lawmakers called an “epidemic” of gun violence in schools and their surrounding communities, and the legislative actions policymakers could take in response. The representatives were all members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
In his remarks, Raskin criticized the Republican members of the committee, all of whom were absent from the roundtable: “This Congress, the majority, has refused to hold a single hearing about any mass shooting with a single exception, when one of the intended victims of the shooting was Donald Trump.”
This is the second roundtable held by the Democrats in the committee. The last discussion, held on Nov. 14, also featured a panel of school leaders and advocates to discuss practical solutions to prevent or reduce gun violence.
DeAngelis was joined by Patricia Greer and Greg Johnson, both members of the Principal Recovery Network, a national support group for school leaders who have survived or led schools in the aftermath of violence. Other advocates and health experts also spoke.
While school shootings that lead to injury or death remain statistically rare—Education Week has counted 29 in 2024 so far, and 211 such shootings since 2018—these incidents have a long-lasting emotional, psychological, and financial impact on schools.
Schools have to help students overcome the trauma from a shooting, and also enhance security measures to help students and staff feel safe. The students of Apalachee High School, for instance, returned on Sept. 24 to therapy dogs, cheerful messages in their windows, and more security on campus—all steps to help them ease back into a routine.
Greer was the principal at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky., in 2018 when a student shot and killed two other students and injured 20 others.
“My heart breaks for these victims but the trauma extends far beyond those who were physically injured. Our entire community was wounded, and recovery is still ongoing six years later with no end in sight,” Greer said.
Students who survive gun violence often need mental health support even after they graduate high school and don’t have access to the same kind of help, Greer said. More funding, through federal grants, could boost long-term support for students, she said.
Principals demand more federal funding, among other supports
All three principals said Title II and IV funds and other federal grants like Project SERV are crucial for schools to lean on when they experience a tragedy or violent event.
These funds, Johnson said, are just as essential for the school shootings that are smaller in scale and don’t capture national headlines. Johnson’s high school in West Liberty, Ohio, experienced a shooting in 2017 when one student opened fire in a bathroom on another student, who, though critically injured, survived.
“A fatality is not a requirement for trauma to occur, and Project SERV can be a funding lifeline for schools that experience all kinds of traumatic events, including non-fatal shootings,” Johnson said.
Project SERV is an emergency grant, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, to help schools recover from a violent incident or natural disaster.
Johnson told lawmakers that the current allocation of $5 million per year for Project SERV isn’t enough to deal with “rising” incidents of school violence and should be raised to $25 million annually.
To both sustain recovery and put in place systems that can prevent gun violence, Greer advocated for higher allocations to both Title II and Title IV funding for schools.
Title II funds—currently allocated at $2.19 billion—can be used by schools to hire, retain, and provide evidence-based training to educators. Title IV funds—$1.38 billion—can help schools provide well-rounded education to students, which includes access to mental health services. The principal group wants to see the allocation increase to $2.4 billion and $1.48 billion, respectively.
Title II funding, Greer added, is essential to train educators in social-emotional learning and mental health support. Teachers “have to show up for students” beyond their traditional role as academics, and educators often feel unprepared for this complex role, especially after students undergo a violent or disruptive incident, Greer said.
Title IV funds can help schools hire more mental health counselors and improve the ratio of students to counselors. Greer and Johnson both noted that the current lack of qualified mental health professionals in schools means many students who need support—either to recover from a violent incident, or those who suffer from ongoing mental health issues—lack the care they need.
This need is more acute in rural schools like West Liberty-Salem. “More [Title IV] funds can help me retain the staff I need. You don’t want to put a suicidal student on a waitlist,” Johnson said.
Greer urged members of Congress to consider the “mental health epidemic” that has an effect on the safety of schools, and how federal funds can help prevent tragedies and support students through trauma.
“Our students’ safety depends on your decision,” she said.
2024-09-24 21:07:10
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