Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott is urging Congress to reroute billions of dollars earmarked for the IRS to hire armed officers for schools across the country.
The School Guardian Act would take unused portions of the $80 billion appropriated to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act and relocate the funds to provide full-time security at every K-12 school in the nation.
"Instead of spending billions of dollars to expand the IRS to go after American taxpayers, Washington can send a powerful message to parents about our true priorities by dedicating these funds to the School Guardian Act to provide block grants to states so they can increase school security at every school and keep kids safe," Scott said in a statement. "I hope my colleagues agree and support its quick passage."
The bill builds on Scott's efforts to improve school safety with increased law enforcement and security measures following the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 students and staff dead. After the shooting, lawmakers in Florida passed legislation that provided every public school in the state to have an armed police officer, sheriff's deputy or trained individual to be present on campus.
Scott said the recent shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, which left three students and three staff members dead, shows the need for a similar policy nationwide.
"We need to do better to keep our schools safe, and that starts by bringing effective ideas like our Guardian Program to every school across our nation," he said. "These brave individuals are willing and able to step up and protect our kids and teachers from those who wish to do them harm."
The School Guardian Act would create a block grant program administered by the U.S. Attorney General to provide federal funding to support the placement of armed law enforcement personnel at every K-12 school in the nation. The block grants would be administered at the state level by a state's chief law enforcement agency. All K-12 schools, both public and private, would be eligible to participate and benefit from the program.
The bill also sets forth reporting requirements from each state to the DOJ as well as an annual report from DOJ to Congress documenting the number of law enforcement officers hired using grant monies, as well as the total amount of unused funds returned by the states.
The bill is endorsed by Stand with Parkland, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association.
"No family should have to go through the indescribable heartbreak of having their child or spouse murdered at school. It is essential that parents feel comfortable sending kids to school every day," said Tony Montalto, president of Stand With Parkland and whose 14-year-old daughter Gina died in the Parkland shooting. "Knowing their children are protected from danger with a specially selected and highly trained officer standing guard as this bill provides will help do that for all America's families."
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