Last year, the U.S. House passed U.S. Rep. John Rutherford’s, R-Fla., “Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act” and now the congressman has directed some of the funds to help the First Coast.
With U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., as the main cosponsor, Rutherford got his bill through the House on a 407-10 vote last year.
Introduced at the end of January 2018, before the Parkland shooting, the proposal “would create a grant program to train students, teachers, school officials, and local law enforcement how to identify and intervene early when signs of violence arise, create a coordinated reporting system, and implement FBI & Secret Service-based school threat assessment protocols to prevent school shootings before they happen" and “would boost school efforts to develop violence prevention programs and coordinate with law enforcement to improve school.” Rutherford’s proposal also reauthorized the 2001 Secure Our Schools program.
Rutherford, who served as sheriff of Duval County before being elected to the House in 2016, weighed in on why he had brought out the bill.
“Today’s vote in the House marks an important step toward keeping our children and our schools safe," Rutherford said after the House passed his bill. "As a career law enforcement officer in Jacksonville, I know that security requires a multi-layered approach. The STOP School Violence Act will give schools and communities the resources they need to identify threats and prevent acts of violence before they occur so we can avoid tragedies like what transpired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School a month ago today. I commend Rep. Deutch, along with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, for working with us to make schools more secure, and I look forward to seeing the Senate join us in the effort to protect our kids.”
“I’m deeply grateful to Sandy Hook Promise for their tireless support for this legislation," said Deutch. "When we first introduced this bill, I had no idea it would hit so close to home for me and my community. This vote is proof that Congress can take bipartisan action to keep our children safe. However, my colleagues should not be mistaken to think this is enough. We cannot tackle the rampant gun violence in our country without addressing guns themselves. Let’s move with this bipartisan momentum and pass meaningful legislation to make our communities safe.”
Rutherford and Deutch rounded up most of the Florida delegation to back the proposal as Republican U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart, Matt Gaetz, Brian Mast, Bill Posey, Tom Rooney, Ros-Lehtinen and Dennis Ross and Democratic U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, Al Lawson, Stephanie Murphy, Darren Soto, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson cosponsored the bill.
Last week, Rutherford, who sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, announced that the Duval County Public Schools will be getting $500,000 through the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) grant program through the STOP School Violence Act.
“Every student deserves to feel safe while they are at school, and every parent deserves the peace of mind that comes from knowing we have done everything in our power to create a safe environment for their children to learn,” said Rutherford. “Today’s grant award to Duval County Public Schools reinforces our federal commitment to children and families across the country that we will never stop working to prevent school violence.”
Rutherford noted the bill has “already resulted in over $175 million in grants for local communities to invest in early intervention programs, better connect law enforcement and administrators, and secure schools.”
