Rep. Stephanie McClintock introduces the SAFE-Learn Act to increase school safety for students and staff

Rep. Stephanie McClintock introduces the SAFE-Learn Act, a bill aimed at increasing school safety through school resource officers, security grants, and discipline reform. Photo courtesy stephaniemcclintock.houserepublicans.wa.gov

Known as the Securing Academic Facilities and Enhancing Learning (SAFE-Learn) Act, House Bill 1637 is made up of five key components

As enrollment in public schools has decreased throughout Washington, and more students and teachers report feeling unsafe at school, Rep. Stephanie McClintock introduced comprehensive legislation this week aimed at making every school in the state a safe place to learn.

Known as the Securing Academic Facilities and Enhancing Learning (SAFE-Learn) Act, House Bill 1637 is made up of five key components, which would do the following:

Create a school safety data dashboard to determine how safe schools really are and target support for struggling schools.
Create a school safety and security grant for schools to physically secure their facilities.
Fund a full-time school resource officer for every public school in Washington state.
Reform school discipline law to allow teachers to maintain order in the classroom and school districts to take action against students who repeatedly disrupt other students’ learning.
Evaluate the comprehensive school safety reforms put in place over the last five years.

“Not enough is being done to ensure our students and staff feel safe. Enrollment is still down in Washington public schools, and more teachers are exiting. The lack of safety and discipline is part of the problem,” said McClintock, R-Vancouver. “Sixty-seven percent of Washington teachers surveyed said violence against them has caused them to consider leaving the profession, and at least 18% of students feel unsafe at school.”

Additionally, private school enrollment and homeschooling have increased substantially since the 2018-19 school year, and student behavior is now the number one cause of job-related stress in teachers.

“Creating a safe learning environment in our public schools is paramount to student success,” said McClintock. “Right now, Washington has no formal way of tracking how safe schools actually are. Nor do we have a system in place to help schools that are struggling the most. This legislation would create a consistent way to track safety data and help schools where safety is an issue.”

If the bill passes, the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction would establish and maintain an online school safety dashboard that would generate a safety rating based on incidents happening in schools. The dashboard would allow the public to review updated school safety data for the state, each public school, and each school district.

The bill would also provide all public schools in Washington the ability to hire a full-time school resource officer. In addition to responding to emergencies, school resource officers also play a proactive role in building positive relationships with students, de-escalating potential conflicts, and fostering a culture of respect and responsibility within the school community.

“Having a trained, professional security officer in every school is essential for creating an environment where students can focus on their education without fear and where educational staff can do their jobs without the threat of violence or disruption,” said McClintock. “By ensuring that every school has a dedicated school resource officer, we’re taking a critical step toward safeguarding our schools and ensuring every student has the best chance to succeed in a secure environment.”

HB 1637 would also put teachers back in charge of their classrooms and reform student discipline policies to address student behavior that is detrimental to the learning environment. The bill would promote better working relationships between school administrators and teachers in making disciplinary decisions to create an environment where every student can thrive academically.

“We need to act now so everyone can learn in a positive environment,” added McClintock. “This legislation would ensure our schools are places where students, teachers, and staff feel safe, respected, and valued and where students can achieve their greatest success.

“We have to make school safety a top priority,” said McClintock. “We can’t continue doing the same things and expect the situation to get better. The SAFE-Learn Act would have a major impact on school safety and student achievement. Our public schools need this legislation now.”

HB 1637 now waits for a public hearing in the House Education Committee.

Information provided by the Washington State House Republicans, houserepublicans.wa.gov