Despite continued global shock and anger following the mass school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, the Californian State Senate advanced a measure that would allow schools to not disclose threats or assaults against staff or officials to police.
How Could They Do This?
SB 1273, proposed by Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles), was approved comfortably last Thursday. This was only two days after an 18-year-old shooter killed 19 students and two instructors at a primary school in Uvalde.
The bill wants to repeal established legislation that forces school faculty members to report various threats to stipulated law enforcement authorities. SB 1273 could make such law enforcement disclosures optional.
Democrats favor gun control over enhanced police enforcement in schools, claiming the latter reduces government pressure for gun controls and harms minority kids.
Students at several Los Angeles schools held walkouts to condemn gun violence on Wednesday as part of that government crackdown.
“The report, to be released by the state Department of Justice, marks the halfway point for the two-year task force's work. The draft report does not provide a comprehensive reparations plan, which is due to lawmakers next year.” https://t.co/SpjAMYGbdL
— Leo Carney (@chefcarney) June 1, 2022
The ACLU applauded the Bradford bill for fostering racial “equity.”
“Once adolescents come into touch with police departments, they are less likely to complete high school and much more likely to end up in jail or prison.”
Students from oppressed groups suffer disproportionately. “Black, Indigenous, and Latinx pupils, as well as schoolchildren with impairments, are disparately reported to law enforcement, ticketed, and imprisoned.”
The bill’s supporters believe it will “prevent children from unnecessarily encountering police enforcement.”
“Our present system resulted in startling inequities in the kind of pupils who are most likely to endure these damages,” Sen. Bradford told the Daily Caller.
“Students of race, black students, and disabled students are frequently referred to, cited, and arrested by police departments.”
Even Democrats Disagree
Sen. Melissa Melendez (D-Lake Elsinore) spoke out against the bill on the Senate floor.
The Democratic lawmaker went on to cite the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018, wherein the gunman allegedly profited from the Obama government’s PROMISE program.
This disheartened minority students from trying to report attacks and threats to law enforcement.
“You’re requesting that [Marjorie] Stoneman Douglas [High School] be repeated throughout the state of California.”
Newsom and lawmakers say they plan to expedite passage of 12 gun-related bills in the California Legislature, including a bill to let people sue gun makers over assault weapons, ghost guns
“I will enthusiastically be signing these bills by the end of next month," Newsom says. pic.twitter.com/6m95Ecl0Va
— Dustin Gardiner (@dustingardiner) May 25, 2022
“I can’t believe that only two days just after terrible tragedies in Texas, the state Senate would adopt a proposal making our kids less safe at school,” Melendez said in a release.
It’s possible that requiring teachers to disclose violent threats in the classroom is the only way for police forces to avoid a future violent assault.
“Violent threats need law enforcement’s response.”
“Parents should have confidence in sending their children to school. SB 1273, by repealing the mandated reporting provision, renders our schools more vulnerable to a replay of what happened in Texas, which is intolerable.”
The bill now goes to the state assembly for a vote before being sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom for approval.
