While families are filling their back to school lists as summer comes to an end, districts are making sure to reinforce their relationships with local law enforcement to go over response plans in case of a crisis.
That's the new reality for kids, coming off a summer that saw mass shootings in El Paso, Gilroy, Calif., and Dayton, who are as accustomed to active shooter drills as they are cafeteria etiquette. Districts around the country are training students and staff how to dress wounds and save lives.
"It's not a school district-only challenge," Gary Amoroso, Executive Director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, said. "This is a challenge of our whole society.
Erin Zamoff, a mother of three school-aged kids and leader with Moms Demand Action Minnesota, is disappointed the legislature did not pass background checks or red flag laws, and vows the group will be back for the next session, a bonding year, to continue to pressure lawmakers.
"It makes me sad, it's outrageous and heartbreaking that when you send your kids to school, it's something you have to think about," Zamoff said of the possibility of a mass shooting. "They put on their backpacks. You give them a hug and you tell them that you love them, and you know that some parents did that and never saw their child again."
While the state legislature did not move on gun violence prevention measures last session, it did provide some grant assistance for building and security upgrades. Amoroso, Zamoff and Scott Croonquist, Executive Director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts, agree that every district should have access to permanent funding, including for staff.
"The reality is that our schools become almost the front line for offering mental health services," Croonquist said. "Those services aren't often available to students and families otherwise."
"I don't think we saw the type of resources dedicated to that that anybody was satisfied with, but that's part of the budget process," Amoroso said.
Croonquist and Amoroso say safety is the highest priority for kids, but the debate over how to stop gun violence from infiltrating schools will undoubtedly continue.
"I think we all agree we need to implement security upgrades to prevent access to schools, but we can't turn our schools in prisons or military bases," Zamoff said. "Schools are the center of our community."
