EDITOR:

According to the FBI records (2018), statistics show that 141 people have been killed in a mass murder or attempted mass murder since 1999 at a school. School shootings are happening more and more and causing undue anxiety for families and students when going to school. 73 percent of school shooters have no prior criminal record and 96 percent of school shooters are male. With this being said, safety plans in schools are necessary to help create a safer environment.

On May 24, 2018, House Bill No. 6071, was introduced by Rep. Kosowski and referred to the Committee on Education. House Bill No. 6071 is an amendment to the bill 1976 PA 451. This bill states that the board of a school district or intermediate school district, and the board of directors of a public school academy shall obtain the safety inspection under subsection not less than once every three years. The department of state police shall provide a report of the findings from a safety inspection to the board that obtained the inspection under subsection. This bill would move in the right direction and help with creating a safer school environment and implement more safety procedures such as security cameras and emergency communications equipment.

I encourage you to contact your local representative Beau Lafave (517) 373-0156 or Tom Casperson (517) 373-7840 and urge either one of them to bring Bill 6071 to the agenda at their next meeting.

Sasha Sunday Nedeau

Escanaba,