Heather Curtis
wmal.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The Valentine’s Day massacre at at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has prompted the Virginia House of Delegates to create a select committee on school safety. It’s the first house select committee in 155 years.
The committee will look at state and local school safety policies and make recommendations to improve school safety to the general assembly in the 2019 session. House speak Kirk Cox said in a letter to the clerk the committee will not look at issues related to guns or behavioral health policy but will focus on things like emergency preparedness, school security infrastructure, implementing security best practices and increasing security at schools.
“The scope of work for this committee is specifically limited to school safety. We will remain laser-focused on the specific areas laid out in my letter to the Clerk, and not allow more partisan issues to distract us from the important steps we must take to ensure that our children are safe in our public schools,” Cox, a Republican, said in a press release.
Committee member Del. David Toscano, a Democrat, said while the committee will likely make some good recommendations, Democrats are concerned about the scope of its work.
“We do not think it goes far enough because it really doesn’t address anything related to guns,” Toscano told WMAL.
Toscano said the legislature doesn’t have to wait for a committee to make recommendations on how to make schools safer. There are things they can do right now to improve school safety, according to Toscano, including raising the age to buy gun to 21 and prohibiting bump stocks. He pointed out that the shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was 19-years-old.
Democrats in the Virginia House are creating an ad hoc committee to address gun violence in all places. Toscano said they don’t want the focus to be just on gun violence in schools.
Meanwhile, the select committee on school safety is scheduled to complete its work by November and submit its recommendations by mid-December. Cox will serve as the committee’s chair. The other members are Steve Landes, Chris Jones, Tommy Wright, Rob Bell, Danny Marshall, Todd Gilbert, Chris Peace, Barry Knight, Roxann Robinson, Israel O’Quinn, Nick Rush, Vivian Watts, Mark Sickles, David Toscano, Charniele Herring, Luke Torian, Paul Krizek, Steve Heretick, Mike Mullin, Jeff Bourne, and Schuyler VanValkenburg.
Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: VA State Government)
