Washington State Representative Prefiles School Safety Bills

Washington State Representative Prefiles School Safety Bills

House Bill 1035 focuses on school resource officers while House Bill 1038 aims to authorize certain school employees to carry firearms on campuses.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • December 19, 2018

Rep. Jim Walsh has prefiled two bills focused on school safety in Washington State. House Bill 1035 focuses on school resource officers while House Bill 1038 aims to authorize certain school employees to carry firearms on campuses.

HB 1035 states that recent violence on U.S. campuses has “threatened the safety of children.” In the bill, Walsh proposes the hiring of school resource officers “to promote a safe learning environment and to protect the safety and welfare of all students and school personnel”.

The bill would provide funding to hire a full-time school resource officer at every school in Washington state, with a starting salary of $70,000 adjusted for inflation and regional salary impacts. According to the bill, the salaries are described as part of the funding “deemed necessary by the legislature to support school districts in offering the minimum program of basic education.”

If HB 1035 is brought to the floor and passed, school resource officers would be hired and placed on campuses beginning in the 2019/2020 school year.

HB 1038 would allow public school districts and private schools to authorize permanent employees to carry firearms on school grounds under certain conditions. The bill also cites “recent acts of mass violence across the nation” that have “threatened the safety of children at school”.According to the bill, “school staff can be a further security resource when they receive training that is equivalent to training received by law enforcement”.

HB 1038 would allow districts to create policies for “trained and certified staff to conceal, carry, and further protect our students from harm”. Under the bill, employees would, at minimum, be required to successfully complete firearms training equivalent to the firearms training undergone by commissioned law enforcement.

If HB 1038 is passed, districts would immediately be able to implement the changes.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

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