Last week, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., introduced the U.S. House version of U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s, R-Fla., “School Guardian Act.”
“The School Guardian Act creates a block grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice to support the hiring of one or more law enforcement officers to provide full-time security at every K-12 school in the country. This bill builds on Senator Scott’s efforts as Governor of Florida to improve school safety with increased law enforcement and security measures following the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. This bill is endorsed by Stand with Parkland, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association,” Scott’s office noted earlier in the year.
The bill would “create a block grant program administered by the U.S. Attorney General to provide federal funding to support the placement of armed law enforcement personnel at every K-12 school in the nation,” which “would be funded by reallocating currently unused portions of the $80 billion appropriated to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Scott’s office offered some details on how the proposal would work.
“These block grants would be administered at the state level by a state’s chief law enforcement agency; all K-12 schools (both public and private) are eligible to participate in and benefit from this program; and unused/unobligated portions of the block grant must be returned to DOJ by the state at the end of each fiscal year,” Scott’s office noted. The bill would also “set forth reporting requirements from each state to the DOJ as well as an annual report from DOJ to Congress documenting the number of law enforcement officers hired using grant monies, as well as the total amount of unused funds returned by the states in the prior fiscal year, disaggregated by state.”
Diaz-Balart unveiled the bill in the House with U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, co-sponsoring the proposal.
“During my time in Congress, I have actively dedicated myself to enhancing community and school safety, recognizing the importance it holds. It is unacceptable for parents or spouses to fear for their loved ones’ safety in educational settings. Regrettably, targeted school attacks persist, harming our most vulnerable. By placing armed law enforcement officers in K-12 schools, we have discovered effective measures to combat violence. As a proud co-lead of this crucial legislation, I am optimistic that this common-sense bill can pass the House and become law,” said Diaz-Balart.
“Speaking as a father, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring all children feel safe in our nation’s schools. Congress must continue building on school safety policies, like the Stop School Violence Act,” said Hudson. “The School Guardian Act will reassure parents that our kids are safe and schools are secure by putting an armed guardian in every public and private school across the nation.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Judiciary and the Ways and Means Committees.
Scott weighed in on his fellow Florida Republican taking up his proposal.
“Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, five years ago, we worked hard to make significant changes and establish measures to increase law enforcement in schools. Thanks to this work, and the landmark legislation we passed, every public school in Florida has an armed police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or an individual who has completed the rigorous training to keep our students safe from harm. The recent shooting of innocent children and educators in Nashville showed us that we need to do better to keep our schools safe, and that starts by bringing effective ideas like our Guardian Program to every school across our nation. These brave individuals are willing and able to step up and protect our kids and teachers from those who wish to do them harm,” Scott said.
“Instead of spending billions of dollars to expand the IRS to go after American taxpayers, Washington can send a powerful message to parents about our true priorities by dedicating these funds to the School Guardian Act to provide block grants to states so they can increase school security at every school and keep kids safe. I thank Representative Mario Diaz-Balart for leading the charge in the House and hope our colleagues support its quick passage,” Scott added.
“After the Parkland School shooting, Florida made massive changes throughout our state to make schools safer for all our children,” said Max Schachter, the father of Parkland shooting victim Alex Schachter and the director of the School Safety Policy Center. “One of the most significant measures implemented was the mandate that every school has at least one armed school safety officer on all our 4,000 K-12 campuses. One of the key findings in the 2021 U.S. Secret Service study: “Averting Targeted School Violence, a U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots against Schools” was that school resource officers (SROs) play an important role in school violence prevention. I fully support Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s School Guardian Act to place armed law enforcement personnel at every K-12 school in the nation. Thank you to my friend for always being a champion of school safety.”
“On behalf of Stand with Parkland, we are pleased to support Congressman Diaz-Balart’s introduction of the School Guardian Act in the US House of Representatives. This bill will help put trained law enforcement officers in every school,” said Tony Montalto, Gina Montalto’s father and the president of Stand with Parkland. “After the tragic shooting at Parkland, we worked closely with then-Governor Scott to make effective changes like this to keep Florida’s schools safe, and now we’re continuing the fight to bring change across the nation. Plainly stated, no family should have to go through the indescribable heartbreak of having their child or spouse murdered at school. It is essential to America’s future that parents feel comfortable sending kids to school every day. Communities can choose to protect their children from danger with specially selected and highly trained officers standing guard as the funds in this bill provides that opportunity for all America’s families.”
“The National Association of School Resource Officers is pleased to provide its support to the School Guardian Act. For more than three decades, NASRO has been clear in its message that every school deserves the opportunity to have a carefully selected and specifically trained SRO to assist in protecting our nation’s most valuable asset!” said Mo Canady, the executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers.
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