LANSING (WWJ) -- A Michigan representative is calling for the state legislature to pass a package of school safety bills that has been sitting in limbo for a year.
One of the sponsors, Republican Rep. Mike Harris from Waterford, is a former school resource officer.
Speaking to WWJ's Beth Fisher, Harris explained a bipartisan task force put the package together after the deadly mass shooting at Oxford High School.
"There's some that deal with mandating that school review their emergency operations plans every three years," Harris said. "There's others that increase the amount of lockdown drills or active shooter training that we do within the schools. Mine, specifically, deals with the training and implication of school safety and security plans."
Harris said he's hopeful that the bills, which would also promote student mental health, will be approved and that they're not being held up by politics.
"I thought we had a great package put together," he told Fisher. "And once this package was done, all of a sudden it just sat for a year, dormant. Meanwhile, we've had things like the MSU shooting."
"We want these to move," Harris added. "We don't think it's a political issue, but we think this is a safety issue, and we really want to drive home that this needs to get done."
On Nov. 30, 2021, 16-year-old Ethan Crumbley took a handgun purchased by his father to Oxford High School and fatally shot fellow students Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. He also shot and wounded six more students and a teacher.
The shooter has since pleaded guilty to murder, terrorism and other charges and is serving a no-parole life sentence. His mother, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a first-of-its-kind case, while his father, James Crumbley, awaits trial.
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