Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation agree that school safety is best handled on an individual basis by school districts.
By Gage Miskimen
WASHINGTON — Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation said school safety needs should be decided by individual school districts.
There have been no recent school shootings in Iowa. However, on Tuesday, another shooting incident occurred, this time at Great Mills High School in Maryland when a 17-year-old male student shot two other students. The shooter was killed by the school’s resource officer.
In a sit-down interview with The Daily Iowan last week, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, said school resource officers can play a vital role in school safety.
“It’s a good thing to have school resource officers,” he said. “They’re there to not only protect the kids but to also create relationships with the students. We want the students to think they are there to protect them.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he is a Senate cosponsor of the STOP School Violence Act, a bill introduced by Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., passed the House on March 14, exactly a month after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is also a Senate cosponsor of the bill.
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The bill aims to provide schools across the country with threat and security assessments, mental-health crisis training, coordination with local law enforcement, locks, metal detectors, and security training for personnel and students.
Grassley initially said no when asked if he thought Iowa schools were safe, then paused and rephrased his answer:
“No. Well, some and some not,” he said. “Out of my 99 county visits, I try to do 15 high schools a year. There are a lot of high schools where you got to push a button and talk into a machine. Locking the school doors would be a big help to limit access.”
Many high schools around Iowa and the nation have a locked door and buzzer system, including schools in the Iowa City School District, where individuals who want to get into the school must get buzzed in by the school’s front office during classroom hours.
But there have been instances of getting around the system.
Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, had a locked-door system in place, but the assailant shot through the windows to enter the building, where he killed 26 people, including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7.
In response to facts from the Sandy Hook shooting, Grassley said when a new high school is built, bulletproof windows could be installed on the first floor as a possibility to improve school safety.
Grassley said he does not want to pass a law to arm teachers with guns in schools, he said. Rather, he believes that decision should lie with school districts.
“The more local education issues are, the better off we are,” Grassley said. “If there were going to be teachers with guns, that ought to be a decision for the school board.”
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School District Superintendent Stephen Murley said the School District has built relationships with various law-enforcement agencies — the district serves five Johnson County towns and the surrounding rural areas.
“We’re in a very fortunate position due to a great position with law enforcement. We have different municipalities, and we work really well with all of them,” Murley said. “Money isn’t an issue with us when it comes to training, and we don’t need extra funds, but it would be good to have support.”
The School District has done all of the infrastructure work with secure entrances and cameras. Iowa City schools have visitors buzz in at the buildings and sign in and out on a sheet when they enter and exit the school. The schools also have a network of cameras in public-access areas of the buildings and continually re-evaluate camera positions with some help from the students.
“High-school kids are good at finding areas without cameras,” Murley said. “So we are always getting better at finding those places.”
The School District uses ALICE training with the staff instead of traditional lockdown drills.
ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) is described as a strategy that goes beyond the conventional lockdown, with numerous options for different scenarios to keep students safe.
The district has also set up a system in which students can send a text anonymously or by name and report bullying, sexual harassment, and other problems to the district.
“We’ve had good luck catching things before they escalate,” Murley said. “We want to make sure students and staff are active participants to make sure incidents don’t rise to the unthinkable.”
Ernst said each school’s needs are going to be different. With the STOP School Violence Act, she said, local schools will be able to collaborate with security experts and mental-health coordinators.
“It’s knowing your school and knowing your population, knowing if there are threats out there,” she said. “If there are issues, intervene early. So many things can be prevented by having a conversation.”
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Loebsack said he doesn’t know how safe Iowa schools are and agrees with his Republican colleagues that schools will have to decide what security measures will work best for them. Measures do have to be taken, he said, and people should listen to the students.
“I’m listening to them and trying to encourage my colleagues to listen to them,” he said. “We need to listen to the children. They are very scared, afraid they are going to be next.”
He also said he believes politicians need to be more courageous in standing up for issues surrounding school safety and gun control.
“Am I hopeful that we’re going to do a lot anytime soon? Not particularly,” he said. “But I think it’s a good thing that more folks, especially students are making the case to press politicians to do the right things. But I see a little bit of hope. I really do.”
