House passes school safety bill that funds training and security, does not include gun control

The House of Representative passed a bill Tuesday to harden school security, and invest in training for students, teachers and law enforcement to identify and respond to signs of gun violence.

What's in the bill?

The STOP (Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act of 2018 passed by an overwhelming 407-10 margin. It was authored by Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.).

The bill includes:

• $50 million for a grant program to train students, teachers and law enforcement on identifying and reporting signs of gun violence
• Development of an anonymous telephone and online system for people to report threats of violence
• $25 million for schools to improve security (e.g. locks, metal detectors, panic buttons)

The grant program would need to be funded through a separate spending bill.

What's the first step?

Despite the bipartisan support, Democrats don’t believe the bill goes far enough because it doesn’t include any gun control measures.

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said it is a good bill, but it “will not solve our gun problem. It won’t ban bump stocks, or fix our background system, or get weapons of war off our streets.”

Deutch is one of the bill’s co-sponsors.

Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) said, “I’m not saying it’s enough. We know this bill is one important step.”

A companion bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is currently being considered by the Senate.