69传媒

Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12庐

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation鈥檚 capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: , .

Federal

Miguel Cardona Should Help 69传媒 Push Parents to Store Guns Safely, Lawmakers Say

By Andrew Ujifusa 鈥 December 15, 2021 3 min read
Three Oakland County Sheriff's deputies survey the grounds outside of the residence of parents of the Oxford High School shooter on Dec. 3, 2021, in Oxford, Mich.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The U.S. Department of Education should create a strategy to encourage school districts to provide parents information about safely storing firearms, in the wake of shootings at a Michigan school last month that left four students dead, scores of federal lawmakers say.

In a to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, more than 100 Democratic members of Congress said such guidance would bolster a 鈥渃ritical intervention鈥 to help prevent school shootings. The lawmakers also said the department should provide schools with guidance about the best ways to reach parents effectively.

Citing data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the lawmakers said that 76 percent of school shooters used a gun they took from the home of a parent or close relative, and that in nearly half of those incidents, the gun was either easily accessible or not secured.

鈥淭he Biden administration supports bold action to address gun violence, and we need that leadership again to keep our schools safe. Keeping guns away from kids should be neither partisan nor controversial,鈥 said 18 members of the Senate and 101 House lawmakers. 鈥淲e have seen many school districts take action to provide information on secure storage to their families, but far too many have not.鈥

The school shootings in Oxford, Mich., have once again left school leaders, policymakers, and others searching for answers about how to improve school safety and make such incidents less likely.

A growing number of schools recently have used the strategy of reminding parents to secure their guns; earlier this month, for example, Atlanta schools pledged to work with community groups on highlighting the importance of safe gun storage. School officials who鈥檝e used this approach say that it鈥檚 a simple strategy that can help fill in the communication gap left by federal and state governments in many instances, although it doesn鈥檛 change or affect gun laws already on the books that cover local jurisdictions.

Roughly 30 states, along with the District of Columbia, have laws essentially designed to prevent children鈥檚 access to firearms. These statutes vary widely. Research from 2018 in the Journal of Urban Health found that live in households where loaded guns aren鈥檛 locked away.

In 2018, President Donald Trump signed the into law following the 2018 school shootings in Parkland., Fla. It provides funding for threat assessments, training, and other activities. However, school shootings like those in Parkland and in Newtown, Conn., in 2012, have not led to significant changes in how the federal government approaches gun control.

Last March, the U.S. Secret Service published , including students who plotted violence at schools. The report notes that 鈥渕any of the student plotters had access to weapons, including unimpeded access to firearms.鈥 The Secret Service also said that school resource officers 鈥減lay an important role鈥 in preventing school violence.

Democrats have been debating the extent to which and school resource officers should be at the center of effort to make schools safer and prevent violence.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., one of the lead lawmakers behind Wednesday鈥檚 letter to Cardona, has efforts strengthen background checks for firearms purchases and other gun control measures. He has also pushed legislation to .

Trump formed a federal school safety committee in 2018 after the Parkland shootings that was led by former education Secretary Betsy DeVos. That committee suggested that schools study whether to train and arm certain staff鈥攅choing a position taken by Trump鈥攁nd recommended that DeVos scrap school discipline guidance from the Obama administration, which DeVos ultimately did.

A 15-year-old student at Oxford High School, has been charged as an adult with murder and other crimes stemming from the Nov. 30 shootings in Michigan that also left six students and a teacher wounded. His parents have also been charged with involuntary manslaughter as part of the case. They have been accused of giving their son access to a gun and failing to intervene.

Law enforcement officials have also criticized school officials for not taking sufficient action before the shooting.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates鈥攁nd detractors鈥攕ee a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump's Education Secretary Pick Is Linda McMahon, Former WWE CEO
McMahon led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term and is co-chair of the president-elect's transition team.
6 min read
Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019.
Then-SBA Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump has tapped McMahon to serve as education secretary in his second term.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal What Could RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Mean for School Vaccine Requirements?
The vaccine skeptic in line to lead the mammoth federal agency could influence schools' vaccine rules, even though they're set by states.
6 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. Trump has selected Kennedy to serve as secretary of health and human services in his second term.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Can Trump Force 69传媒 to Change Their Curricula?
Trump's bid to take money from schools that teach "critical race theory" or pass policies for transgender kids raises legal complexities.
9 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP