Nebraska's Bacon co-sponsors bill to enhance school safety

In the wake of the Parkland, Florida shootings, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) has co-sponsored a bill aimed at ending school violence.

The Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act, or H.R. 4909 -- which passed the House on March 14 -- authorizes funding for FBI and Secret Service-based school threat assessment teams, the implementation of anonymous reporting systems, assistance with identifying and preventing violence, and aligning efforts of school and local law enforcement.

“Our schools need to have resources to protect our nation’s children,” Bacon said in a press release. “This act provides crucial funding for training of students, teachers, and law enforcement to properly identify signs of violence and understand how to prevent it. Streamlining school and local law enforcement violence prevention efforts are also crucial to ensure the safety of our nation’s children."

Bacon said the STOP Act is just the first step to make substantial changes to school safety, and that he is committed to identifying more.