Legislative action on school security bill.
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CHEYENNE – In an overwhelming floor vote, the state House of Representatives killed a school security bill Friday because of what some called an unfunded, and unneeded, mandate on schools.
Senate File 64, sponsored in the interim session by the Joint Education Commit-tee, died on its first vote in the House on a 43-13 vote. The bill was passed out of the Senate 19-11 last month and received unanimous support from the House Education Committee this past week.
The bill would have required the Wyoming Department of Education, in collaboration with relevant state agencies, to create security guidelines for school districts to implement at the local level. It also would have made all school district employees undergo training that would prepare them for a violent intruder attack.
Opponents of the bill, including House majority leadership, said SF 64 was an unnecessary, and unfunded, mandate for schools. SF 64 was amended Friday to remove a requirement that plans be developed annually and for plans to include areas like a school’s bus barn. But those changes weren’t enough to convince the vast majority of representatives to get behind the bill.
Speaker of the House Steve Harshman, R-Casper, said schools were already doing this, and the state didn’t need to create unnecessary mandates. He referred to Natrona County High School, where he’s a teacher and football coach, and said there are already staff members whose jobs are to fill out forms. Harshman said this bill would mean another person would have to sit around and fill out reports to meet state demands.