Georgia school safety laws now in effect, advocates plead for more support services

A host of new measures are now in effect, geared toward the safety of students and staff members as they return to school. But some Georgia advocacy groups are calling for increased support services.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A host of new measures are now in effect, geared toward the safety of students and staff members as they return to school. Although, some Georgia advocacy groups are calling for increased support services.

Georgia’s newly enacted school safety law is the result of a mass shooting at Apalachee High school in Winder, that left four people dead and nine injured last September.

House Bill 268 was signed into law in April, requiring schools to have panic buttons for employees to contact law enforcement and helped school systems upgrade threat management procedures. Student support advocates though, say building relationships is far more important than policy.

“If you want students to report when something is not quite right, they have to feel that their teachers will treat it correctly and will treat them with respect,” said Darlene Lynch, Legal and Policy Director of the Georgia Appleseed Center of Law and Justice. “So, having a positive school climate makes schools a lot safer.”

After last year’s shooting, Lynch says there was an uptick in out of school suspensions and expulsion as more school districts resorted to zero tolerance policies.

“A lot of these things were just kids being kids,” she said. “A third of the kids we saw had disabilities like autism.” 

Lynch says these actions contradict the state’s efforts to combat chronic absenteeism. At the supporting school climate and student well-being panel in Macon Wednesday, leaders from across Georgia stressed the need for school programs targeting mental health, but acknowledged that budget shortfalls can often put such programs on the backburner.

“A lot of us in mental health, we have really long lists of policy priorities, said Eve Byrd, Senior Advisor for the Rosalynn Carter Center Mental Health and Caregiver Program. “But could we, as a collaborative, really focus in on where we want each year to move the needle?”

In her role with Georgia Appleseed, Lynch helps students facing suspension and expulsion. Wednesday’s event highlighted data showing that students who graduate live longer, make more money and are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system throughout their lives. Lynch says keeping students in school and pouring into their mental well-being is the number one way the state can achieve school safety.

“Having access to counseling and having access to training at the school about mental health can really also help the student but make schools safer,” she said. 

Each Georgia school now receives a 1 through 5 rating based on absenteeism rate, out of school suspension rate, safety, along with surveys of students, parents and staff. The new law requires schools that score below a three to implement new frameworks for improvement.