Idaho House Bill 415 would remove local control from elected school boards to decide whether school officials can carry guns on campus.
The bill would allow school staff with enhanced concealed weapons permits to legally carry them on school grounds. There is no question that Representative Ted Hill and those supporting this bill care deeply about the safety of our students and staff. But this bill grossly misprioritises a statewide school safety plan that focuses on response rather than prevention.
Using the FBI's active shooter definition and data on K-12 shootings, we know that nearly 95% of K-12 shootings involve current or former students at the targeted schools. This means we have the potential to prevent 95% of these attacks by proactively identifying students on the path to violence and providing early intervention. This is further supported by a Secret Service report showing that juvenile offenders who target schools divulge their thoughts and plans at a higher rate than other offenders.
Idaho does not require public schools to have behavioral threat assessment teams. Nor are there any standards required for how those teams conduct threat assessments. Utah recently passed legislation mandating school threat assessment teams and requiring schools to use the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guide (CSTAG). CSTAG is an evidence-based threat assessment model used in more K-12 schools in the United States than any other system. HB 415 prioritizes responding to incidents when students have already been killed rather than proactively establishing protocols to prevent attacks from occurring. The bill missed its target by 95%.
In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education stated that lockdown-only response protocols were not sufficient, recommending option-based protocols as best practices. The majority of Idaho K-12 schools are still using a lockdown-only approach, according to recent data from the Idaho School Safety and Security Program. States should require schools to adopt option-based response protocols and ban the use of the word lockdown in emergency broadcasts. States should create standards for trauma-informed training and training documentation. This bill misses the mark by demonstrating a willful indifference to aligning our state with the latest research and best practice recommendations for active shooter response.
Although it may not be financially feasible to have a school resource officer (SRO) in every school, establishing standards for SROs is difficult. Idaho has not yet defined an SRO. Without defining SROs, we cannot set educational standards for those whose primary responsibility is student safety. Legislators who care deeply about our children must demand only the highest standards from the officials and lawmakers assigned to these roles. This bill misses its mark by lowering the standards for protecting students to a heightened CCW rating instead of raising standards for peace officers.
Rep. Hill and those supporting this bill have demonstrated their determination to protect students and educators. Thank you for your dedication. But these efforts are focused in the wrong areas. Provides schools with resources to identify and support at-risk students. Empower stakeholders to prepare through a variety of response options. Invest in school resource officers who are committed to protecting our educational facilities.
On behalf of the Idaho School Resource Officers Association Board of Directors and 200 Idaho SRO members, we oppose House Bill 415. We ask our elected representatives to represent us and the voices of our communities by voting against HB 415. Prioritize evidence-based school safety measures.