Washington, DC— This week, Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-06) joined Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) in introducing H.R. 4301, the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act. The bill will create a federal definition for “school shooting” and instruct the Departments of Education, in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, to annually report uniform data on indicators of school crime as it pertains to school shootings.

“Any instance of gun violence in a school is unacceptable, and it is our duty to protect our nation’s children and do all we can to stop school shootings,” said McBath. “We can all work together to establish reporting requirements, be honest about this crisis, and stand up for future generations. Our bill will measure this horrible problem so that Americans can solve it together.”

“Classrooms should be a safe place where parents can have peace of mind that their children will be safe and free to learn. This legislation will help us to gather objective data to better understand how we can come together to prevent the tragedy of mass shootings occurring in our schools,” said Gabbard. 

"This bill begins to address a serious problem born of inaction," said Hayes. "We can’t manage a problem that we have not measured. It is critical that we gather as much information as possible to prevent future school shootings. I commend Reps. Gabbard and McBath for their efforts in this regard."

 

The School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act would:

 

• Create a federal definition for “school shooting,” establishing one standard definition in order to avoid subjective reporting of the circumstances surrounding these incidents.
• Require the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, to publish annual reports on indicators of school crime. The reports would:
• Track the number of shootings, the number of people killed, demographics of shooters and victims, the motivation of shooters, types of firearms and ammunition used, how the firearm was acquired, and more.
• Track information on the existence or absence of safety and prevention measures at the time of the shooting, such as building designs, communication and response plans, and more.

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