Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4909 - Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018

(House)
(Rep. Rutherford, R-FL, and 82 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly supports H.R. 4909, the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, and urges the Congress to approve this legislation. H.R. 4909 would help school personnel and law enforcement personnel identify and prevent violence in schools. The bill authorizes $500 million for State-based grants, administered by the Department of Justice, to support evidence-based violence-prevention programs in every middle and high school across the country. These grants would support a range of pro-active strategies for identifying and preventing school-targeted violence, including evidence-based training, anonymous reporting systems, threat assessments, intervention teams, and increased coordination between schools and local law enforcement. The programs that these grants support will provide significant improvements to school security.

The President's top priority is to keep the American people safe from those who wish to do them harm or to inflict terror upon them. The Administration supports legislative efforts to protect the most vulnerable in our society, especially children. The Federal government is uniquely positioned to identify and share best practices or reform opportunities with States that would deter and prevent violent crime in our schools and communities.

It is critical that the Congress work to secure our schools; to strengthen our laws to aid in law enforcement; to improve treatment for individuals struggling with serious mental illness, especially those who pose an imminent threat to themselves and others; and to better coordinate with States to improve existing programs and practices. H.R. 4909 is a good step that would be improved by eliminating the restriction on the use of funds to provide firearms training for those in a position to provide students with appropriate, armed defense.

If H.R. 4909 were presented to the President, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.