Increased information sharing, improved security cameras, and design changes are among the suggestions from Nevada's Attorney General when it comes to protecting schools in the wake of recent shootings.
Adam Laxalt released the 32-page plan Thursday after bringing more than 100 educators and law enforcement representatives together in Carson City in March.
"We think these recommendations will go a long way in making our kids and schools safer," Laxalt said.
Among the report lays out a five-pronged approach for prevention and response to active-assailants.
- Plan for safer school buildings
- This includes having every school aim for a single point of entry to buildings, adding perimeter fencing with panic hardware as well as installing better security camera systems.
- Plan for and establish incident command
- Calling for school districts and police departments to determine who would assume command in case of a school shooting.
- Design effective active-assailant training
- Calls on police agencies to share plans for protecting and stopping an active shooter.
- Requests legislation that would prevent response plans from becoming available as public records.
- Improve communication between schools and law enforcement
- Asks districts to set up a process to allow detailed histories to follow students from one school to the next.
- Encourages students to download and use the SafeVoice app where they can report threats anonymously
- Adopt measures related to family safety
- Requests an analysis of mental health information handling and whether it should be made available to law enforcement in real time.
Many of the recommendations would require investment in infrastructure or new technology that is not part of the budget.
"Of course it is up to the legislature and the future governor to do that balance and figure out where the money is and what the priority is," Laxalt, who is the Republican gubernatorial candidate, said. "I think it should be a top priority and given the recent shootings that you'll see that pop to the top."
That's something school board members agree with saying the changes will come with high upfront costs.
"At about $800,000 to put all of your cameras, all of your safety devices," CCSD board member Kevin Child said. "That's $450 million (statewide)."
That's something the report authors acknowledge also encouraging police and school districts to pursue federal grants.
"A number of these items will have a price tag, but it is a priority and we need to figure out how to make our school as safe as possible," Laxalt said.
The Nevada State Democratic Party released the following statement on the Attorney General's report:
"Adam Laxalt's failure to lead on preventing gun violence is on full display. It's clear that Laxalt scrambled to put together this report after the NV Dems called him out for his failure to produce the promised results from his much-vaunted School Safety Summit. The fact is that Laxalt is nothing more than a puppet for the Washington gun lobby, even working with them to block the ballot measure to expand background checks, which he has since refused to work to enforce after Nevada voters approved it."
