Colo. lawmakers want college plans in case of on-campus shootings

by: Jeffrey Wolf, Adam Schrager
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=134318&catid=222

DENVER - It is because of the lessons being learned on the nation's college campuses that Colorado state lawmakers are taking action.

"I think there was a time when we all just assumed that our college campuses were safe," Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) said.

In reaction to the shootings at schools like Virginia Tech and more recently at Ohio State University, Carroll is sponsoring House Bill 1054. It requires Colorado's universities and colleges to have plans in place to deal with school shootings.

"We all really needed to do some soul searching, both about what was going on there, but some very pragmatic planning to make sure we were doing the kind of planning and communication we would need to make sure our students were safe," Carroll said.

Carroll and others designed the legislation loosely to allow individual campuses to set policies that are best for them, but they are requiring that those plans be shared every year with students, teachers and staff.

"A plan doesn't really help you a whole lot if other people don't know what the plan is or what their role in that would be," Carroll said.

The Senate Education Committee heard testimony from school safety experts who warned against thinking it cannot happen here.

"This is a piece of legislation that says, 'OK, show us what you got,'" John Simmons with School Safety Partners said.

The measure passed unanimously and will be debated in the full senate later this month. Supporters say it is a necessary step to give everyone on college campuses some peace of mind.

"I just think it's very important we have a critical incident plan and that it's disseminated. We all hope we never need it, but God forbid we do, then we have it," Carroll said.

An earlier plan at the State Capitol that would have required K-12 schools to perform drills related to school shootings like current fire drills was defeated. Critics worried it cost local schools too much money and did not give them enough latitude to determine what kind of drill is best suited to them.

Printable Version of this Page