[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5838-5839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHOOLS EMPOWERED TO RESPOND ACT

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2008

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on 
Homeland Security and the former superintendent of public instruction 
in North Carolina, I am pleased today to introduce the Schools 
Empowered to Respond Act. This bill will put the federal government to 
work in partnership with states and local education agencies to support 
school preparedness planning, training, and equipment needs.
  Schools are a vital resource in our community, and our children spend 
the majority of their daylight hours in our educational institutions. 
But schools are often overlooked when considering emergency 
preparedness and first responder needs. Even as teachers, 
administrators, and students are working together to make schools a 
safe place for learning, they can use additional help and guidance to 
make their planning as effective as possible.
  When I surveyed principals in my district's schools in 2006 about 
emergency response planning, I learned that schools were keeping our 
children safe but, despite the lessons of 9/11, the federal government 
was doing little to improve emergency planning and disaster mitigation 
at schools. I then asked the Government Accountability Office to survey 
schools across the nation. They spoke to school personnel in Washington 
State, Iowa, Massachusetts, Florida, Ohio, and my own state of North 
Carolina. Last June, they reported the same thing I found in the 2nd 
District: schools want to improve their security, but need support and 
guidance to make improvements.
  The Schools Empowered to Respond Act gives schools this support and 
guidance. It takes simple but important steps to make sure that schools 
have the help they need to keep our kids safe. State governments and 
education officials know what is best for their communities and their 
students, and this bill supports their work to keep schools safe and 
secure places to learn.
  It gives school officials a ``one-stop shop'' in the Department of 
Homeland Security they

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can look to for advice, best practices, and assistance for school 
security planning. This office will coordinate federal initiatives such 
as the Safe Schools Initiative, Readiness and Emergency Management for 
Schools, and Safe and Drug Free Schools to ensure that resources get to 
the schools that need them. The bill also ensures that schools are 
eligible for emergency planning grants from DHS to improve school 
security. Given the vital role that schools serve in our communities, 
it ensures that teachers and administrators, school resource officers, 
and school emergency planning officials have a prominent voice in our 
national homeland security response. In short, it empowers school 
personnel to continue their good work and to implement their plans for 
school security by giving them the guidance and resources they need to 
keep our children safe.
  Given recent events at schools across the country, we as a nation 
simply must invest in important priorities like emergency planning to 
ensure our schools remain prepared for any emergency. I am proud to be 
taking steps to help schools with their emergency planning, and I ask 
my colleagues to join me in supporting the Schools Empowered to Respond 
Act today.

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