Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6422 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- H 6422
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7	7	LC002903
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
15	15	CREATING A LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO EVALUATE AND PROVIDE
16	16	RECOMMENDATIONS ON M ANDATED SAFETY PROTO COLS FOR RHODE ISLAND
17	17	SCHOOLS
18	18	Introduced By: Representatives Boylan, Stewart, McNamara, Cruz, Knight, Tanzi,
19	19	Felix, Alzate, Donovan, and Spears
20	20	Date Introduced: May 19, 2023
21	21	Referred To: House Education
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24	24	WHEREAS, Gunfire on school grounds takes many forms and mirrors the problem of 1
25	25	gun violence in the United States; and 2
26	26	WHEREAS, Numerous schools in Rhode Island received "swatting" calls over the past 3
27	27	year. Swatting can result in sending a police or emergency service response team to a school, and 4
28	28	can result in a lockdown event. During and in the aftermath of a school swatting event, students 5
29	29	and teachers may experience trauma and have difficulty returning to a normal routine after the 6
30	30	event; now, therefore be it 7
31	31	RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created 8
32	32	consisting of twenty (20) members: four (4) of whom shall be members of the House of 9
33	33	Representatives, not more than three (3) from the same political party, to be appointed by the 10
34	34	Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary 11
35	35	Education, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode Island School 12
36	36	Superintendents Association, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode Island 13
37	37	Association of School principals, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the Rhode 14
38	38	Island Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, or designee; one of whom shall be the 15
39	39	President of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Education Association, or designee; one of 16
40	40	whom shall be the Rhode Island Attorney General, or designee; one of whom shall be a Rhode 17
41	41	Island school psychologist, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a 18
42	42	member of the National Association of Social Workers, Rhode Island Chapter, who is employed 19
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46	46	in a Rhode Island public school, to be appointed be the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall 1
47	47	be the President of the Rhode Island PTA, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the 2
48	48	Rhode Island Association of Fire Chiefs, Inc., or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode 3
49	49	Island Child Advocate, or designee; two (2) of whom shall be Rhode Island high school students, 4
50	50	one of whom attends a suburban school district and one of whom attends an urban school district, 5
51	51	to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be a special needs educator, 6
52	52	employed in a Rhode Island public school, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of 7
53	53	whom shall be the Executive Director the RI Police Chiefs' Association, or designee; and one of 8
54	54	whom shall be the Rhode Island State Police School Safety Commissioner, or designee. 9
55	55	In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study 10
56	56	commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing 11
57	57	authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that 12
58	58	the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which is entitled to the 13
59	59	appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public. 14
60	60	The purpose of said commission shall be to determine what changes, if any, need to be 15
61	61	made in Rhode Island General Law 16-21-4 in light of the national landscape of school shootings 16
62	62	as well as recent swatting events. This study shall include, but not be limited to, evaluation of: 17
63	63	• Should the number of drills dictated in RI 16-21-4 be changed and if so, what should 18
64	64	they change to? 19
65	65	• Whether lockdown drills during school hours should include simulations that mimic an 20
66	66	actual incident; 21
67	67	• Should parents have advance notice of lockdown drills. Currently, no notice that 22
68	68	includes the exact time of the lockdown drill is required; 23
69	69	• Should a lockdown drill be announced to students and educators prior to its start; 24
70	70	• Should schools create age and developmentally appropriate lockdown drill content with 25
71	71	the involvement of school personnel, including school-based mental health professionals; 26
72	72	• Should schools couple drills, as well as lock down events, with trauma-informed 27
73	73	approaches to address students' wellbeing both during the drills, and over a sustained period and 28
74	74	if so, how can that approach be implemented; 29
75	75	• During actual lockdowns, what enforcements are necessary so that personal do not 30
76	76	ignore the lockdown; 31
77	77	• During actual lockdowns, should an evacuation option be available to students; and 32
78	78	• Should the frequency of mandatory emergency egress drills (fire drills) be changed 33
79	79	from one per month to some reduced number of drills per academic school year as these drills 34
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83	83	may be traumatizing; and 1
84	84	• Are there any additional steps that school administrators can take to minimize trauma 2
85	85	around all the drills as well as any lockdown events. 3
86	86	The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. 4
87	87	All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, 5
88	88	documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or 6
89	89	desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. 7
90	90	The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters 8
91	91	for said commission; and be it further 9
92	92	RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the 10
93	93	House of Representatives no later than February 28, 2024, and said commission shall expire on 11
94	94	April 30, 2024. 12
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101	101	EXPLANATION
102	102	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
103	103	OF
104	104	H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
105	105	CREATING A LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMISSION TO EVALUATE AND PROVIDE
106	106	RECOMMENDATIONS ON M ANDATED SAFETY PROTO COLS FOR RHODE ISLAND
107	107	SCHOOLS
108	108	***
109	109	This resolution would create a twenty (20) member legislative commission whose 1
110	110	purpose it would be to evaluate and provide recommendations on mandated safety protocols for 2
111	111	RI schools, and who would report back to the House no later than February 28, 2024, and whose 3
112	112	life would expire on April 30, 2024. 4
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