Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) introduced the Protect Our Children's Schools Act, Protect Against School Shootings (PASS) Act, School Resource Officer Compensation Act, and Securing Our Schools Act to harden our schools, prioritize school safety, and ensure emergency preparedness. Rep. Weber is reintroducing three of his bills from the 117th Congress, while joining with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to introduce the Securing Our Schools Act this (118th) Congress. Sen. Cruz is also the Senate sponsor of the Protect Our Children’s School Act. "In the wake of another horrific tragedy, we have a duty and responsibility to ensure the safety of our children and teachers by hardening our schools,” said Rep. Weber. “In my district, we know that evil people do evil things, and in 2018 the unimaginable happened at Santa Fe High School, leaving ten people dead. There is no reason why our schools should be soft targets. We clearly have the resources and means to protect the most precious – our children and our teachers. I'm introducing four commonsense bills to bolster school safety, hire school resource officers and mental health counselors, and harden schools before another senseless violent crime destroys another family. It is more imperative than ever for Congress to pass these bills to protect our children and secure our schools." “This past Monday, the parents of three beautiful children and the families of three adults had their lives shattered by an act of senseless and premeditated violence,” said Sen. Cruz. “Words cannot express the loss these families are experiencing. Never again will these families feel the warm embrace or hear the laughter of their loved ones and this tragedy will leave a hole in the hearts and lives of everyone who knew the victims of this crime. I have spent my career, both as Texas Solicitor General and as a Senator, working to keep criminals off the streets and to keep our communities safe. I am deeply committed to improving school security, which is why I am working to pass my school safety legislation to ensure that when a child leaves for school they can be protected from acts of senseless violence and will return home to the loving arms of their parents. These bills would be the most significant investment in school security ever enacted by Congress—doubling the number of police officers in schools and improving the physical security of our schools. I call on my colleagues to act with me and pass this legislation now to protect our children in school.” Background: The Protect Our Children's Schools Act would allow the Secretary of Education to use unspent COVID-19 funds designated for schools and localities to reprogram those funds to make our schools safer against attacks. This money would be used to strengthen and enhance security systems already in place at schools. It would also allow for the funds to be spent on creating and implementing school safety programs to ensure our educators and administrative staff are better equipped to deal with active shooter scenarios. The School Resource Officer Compensation Act would incentivize school districts to hire retired law enforcement officers to serve as School Resource Officers, by exempting the respective school districts from the additional expense of having to pay matching social security contributions to anyone desiring to serve in this critical safety role. The Protect Against School Shootings (PASS) Act would amend the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. This bill would allow qualified law enforcement officers, retired law officers, and those permitted by State law to carry a firearm in an otherwise "gun free" school zone. The Securing our Schools Act would enhance school security, including doubling school resource officers, hiring more school-based mental health counselors, and expanding the nonprofit security grant program.
