Governor Spanberger signs new bills aimed at supporting students, schools in Virginia
VIRGINIA - Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed bipartisan legislation on Thursday aimed at keeping students safe across the Commonwealth.
Several of the bills passed unanimously, and some of those newly signed bills will provide more direct support for students in the Commonwealth.
The legislation:
One of the newly signed bills permits school boards to provide teachers with wearable panic alarm systems in the classroom to more quickly alert law enforcement during emergencies. That bill passed unanimously, and it impacts students at schools across Virginia.
The governor's office also says the signed bills will modernize internet safety education.
"Anytime you have bipartisan support to be able to provide a safe environment for the kids in any state. In this case, Virginia, think it's wonderful, and I think that's some of the things that are being outlined in this bill make complete sense and is based on the research that we've done related to school safety," said Dr. Alex del Carmen, a criminologist and director of the Institute for Predictive Analytics in Criminal Justice.
Dig deeper:
Some highlights of the bills include implementing coordination between school administrations, teachers, and law enforcement.
The governor also signed bipartisan legislation aiming to ensure teachers have resources and training to respond to emergencies.
Spanberger's office says the bills she signed into law will help keep Virginia students safe by strengthening training on red flag laws, helping teachers identify student mental health challenges, and investing in greater classroom support for at-risk students, plus expanding extracurricular programs to help reduce youth violence.
Local perspective:
"My first reaction would be more security, but at the same take, that's not always the answer," mom Kerstin said.
"Whatever they need to do, extra guards, whatever, because in this time, everything is uncertain," another Springfield resident and mother, Jeann, told FOX 5.
Spanberger expressed support for the community, saying, "every Virginia parent deserves peace of mind knowing their kids are safe, supported and set up for success."