| R 414 |
| 2023 -- H 6422 Enacted 06/12/2023 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO EVALUATE AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS ON MANDATED SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR RHODE ISLAND SCHOOLS |
Introduced By: Representatives Boylan, Stewart, McNamara, Cruz, Knight, Tanzi, Felix, Alzate, Donovan, and Spears |
| Date Introduced: May 19, 2023 |
| WHEREAS, Gunfire on school grounds takes many forms and mirrors the problem of |
| gun violence in the United States; and |
| WHEREAS, Numerous schools in Rhode Island received "swatting" calls over the past |
| year. Swatting can result in sending a police or emergency service response team to a school, and |
| can result in a lockdown event. During and in the aftermath of a school swatting event, students |
| and teachers may experience trauma and have difficulty returning to a normal routine after the |
| event; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of twenty (20) members: four (4) of whom shall be members of the House of |
| Representatives, not more than three (3) from the same political party, to be appointed by the |
| Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary |
| Education, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode Island School |
| Superintendents Association, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode Island |
| Association of School principals, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode |
| Island Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, or designee; one of whom shall be the |
| President of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Education Association, or designee; one of |
| whom shall be the Rhode Island Attorney General, or designee; one of whom shall be a Rhode |
| Island school psychologist, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a |
| member of the National Association of Social Workers, Rhode Island Chapter, who is employed |
| in a Rhode Island public school, to be appointed be the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall |
| be the President of the Rhode Island PTA, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the |
| Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs, Inc., or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode |
| Island Child Advocate, or designee; two (2) of whom shall be Rhode Island high school students, |
| one of whom attends a suburban school district and one of whom attends an urban school district, |
| to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a special needs educator, |
| employed in a Rhode Island public school, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of |
| whom shall be the Executive Director the RI Police Chiefs' Association, or designee; and one of |
| whom shall be the Rhode Island State Police School Safety Commissioner, or designee. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study |
| commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing |
| authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that |
| the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which is entitled to the |
| appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to determine what changes, if any, need to be |
| made in Rhode Island General Law 16-21-4 in light of the national landscape of school shootings |
| as well as recent swatting events. This study shall include, but not be limited to, evaluation of: |
| • Should the number of drills dictated in RI 16-21-4 be changed and if so, what should |
| they change to? |
| • Whether lockdown drills during school hours should include simulations that mimic an |
| actual incident; |
| • Should parents have advance notice of lockdown drills. Currently, no notice that |
| includes the exact time of the lockdown drill is required; |
| • Should a lockdown drill be announced to students and educators prior to its start; |
| • Should schools create age and developmentally appropriate lockdown drill content with |
| the involvement of school personnel, including school-based mental health professionals; |
| • Should schools couple drills, as well as lock down events, with trauma-informed |
| approaches to address students' wellbeing both during the drills, and over a sustained period and |
| if so, how can that approach be implemented; |
| • During actual lockdowns, what enforcements are necessary so that personal do not |
| ignore the lockdown; |
| • During actual lockdowns, should an evacuation option be available to students; and |
| • Should the frequency of mandatory emergency egress drills (fire drills) be changed |
| from one per month to some reduced number of drills per academic school year as these drills |
| may be traumatizing; and |
| • Are there any additional steps that school administrators can take to minimize trauma |
| around all the drills as well as any lockdown events. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters |
| for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| House of Representatives no later than February 28, 2024, and said commission shall expire on |
| April 30, 2024. |
| ======== |
| LC002903 |
| ======== |