The House Select Committee on School Safety will hold its first meeting Wednesday in Raleigh to address how to keep children and faculty safe in the state’s school systems.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in room 643 of the Legislative Office Building and last until noon when legislators will break until 2 p.m. with work lasting until 5 p.m.
Legislators announced the agenda for the first meeting on Monday, which will include presentations from students, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the Center for Safer Schools.
The offices of state House Reps. David Lewis (R-Harnett) and John Torbett (R-Gaston) released the preliminary agenda which also includes personnel from the N.C. Emergency Management Division, the Task Force for Safer Schools, the N.C. School Psychology Association and Meridian Behavioral Health Services.
“We want committee members to absorb as much information as possible prior to a discussion about current law and potential policy proposals,” Lewis said. “This is a comprehensive effort to examine school safety in North Carolina and we appreciate the willingness of so many experts to provide input at our first hearing.”
The presentations are expected to cover a range of key issues in school safety including physical security, mental health services and student perspectives.
“Committee members must first understand how state and local agencies work together to protect students and teachers,” Torbett said. “As legislators, our role is to empower law enforcement and educators to provide secure and productive classrooms that keep children safe every day across North Carolina.”
House Speaker Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) appointed the House Select Committee on School Safety in February following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and faculty dead and over a dozen wounded.
According to a House release, Moore plans to address the committee on Wednesday, saying that the committee’s work is important for our state.
“The state’s first and foremost duties are to protect and educate our children,” Moore said. “This committee’s work will reflect the sense of urgency among the people of North Carolina to secure classrooms and keep students safe at school.”
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