WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Higgins’ bill, H.R. 5242 the School Resource Officer Assessment Act, today during National Police Week. The bill directs the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of Education to compile data regarding the number and status of school resource officers assigned to public schools across America.
Congressman Higgins has become a leading congressional voice on school safety. Earlier this month, Congressman Higgins hosted a roundtable discussion with school superintendents and regional law enforcement representatives in Louisiana.
The School Resource Officer Assessment Act is the first of two school safety bills offered by Congressman Higgins to pass the House.
Congressman Higgins issued the following statement:
“Currently, there is no comprehensive report on where or how school resource officers are deployed across the country. That data simply does not exist. The first step in promoting school safety should be to evaluate what assets are on the ground and identify where additional resources are needed. We must ensure that our public schools have a sufficient number of highly-skilled, tactically-trained school resource officers to protect our kids and teachers.
Passing my bill today is the foundation of a larger endeavor to secure our schools. I am heavily engaged in these efforts, and we are aggressively pushing measures that make schools safer.”
Majority Whip Steve Scalise commended Congressman Higgins’ efforts:
“Congressman Higgins is using his own personal experience in law enforcement to pass this important bill that will strengthen school safety. I applaud Clay for leading the charge on this important bill at the same time as we honor National Law Enforcement Week. To improve school safety, we must first gather data on points of strength and weakness because understanding which schools have or still need adequate school safety officers is a first step to protecting students’ lives, and Congressman Higgins’ School Resource Officer Assessment Act does just that.”
