House Approves Measure Requiring School Safety Review

The Indiana House approved legislation Monday to create new studies on school safety.

The measure comes in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead.

The unanimously-approved legislation compels the state’s secured school safety board to review school safety in Indiana and report to the legislature – including potential recommendations to improve it.

It also orders the Department of Education to audit every Indiana school corporation’s existing safety plan, perform an onsite review in each district, and make recommendations for improvement.

And lastly, Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis) explains his bill says schools can wait three minutes to evacuate because of an unplanned fire alarm. That’s an adjustment to account for school shooters using those alarms to set traps for their victims.

“In the case of an active shooter, they would actually remain in the classroom as opposed to going into the hallways or to another area,” Behning says.

The measure now goes back to the Senate.