MATTER OF FACT. NEARLY 400,000 CHILDREN HAVE EXPERIENCED GUN VIOLENCE AT SCHOOL SINCE THE 1999 MASS SHOOTING AT COLUMBINE. THAT’S ACCORDING TO ANALYSIS BY THE WASHINGTON POST. AND THAT INCLUDES STUDENTS AT THE MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL IN PARKLAND, FLORIDA, WHERE 17 PEOPLE WERE SHOT AND KILLED IN 2018. AFTER THAT, THE FEDERAL SCHOOL SAFETY CLEARINGHOUSE WAS ESTABLISHED TO HELP ADMINISTRATORS PREVENT FUTURE SHOOTINGS. THEN, AFTER 19 STUDENTS AND TWO TEACHERS WERE KILLED AT ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN UVALDE, TEXAS, IN 2022, THAT CLEARINGHOUSE WAS CODIFIED INTO LAW AND AN EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD WAS MANDATED. THE ADVISORY BOARD WAS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO IMPROVE K THROUGH 12 SAFETY. BUT ONE OF THE FIRST ACTS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WAS TO PUT THAT PANEL ON PAUSE. RONN NOZOE IS THE BOARD’S CHAIR. HE’S CEO OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. MR. NOZOE, NICE TO HAVE YOU. THANKS FOR JOINING ME. THANK YOU. WHO WAS ON THE BOARD AND WHAT WAS THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS BOARD? THE BOARD WAS COMPRISED OF 26 MEMBERS, ALL APPOINTED BY THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY. AND IT WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT REPRESENTED A WIDE RANGE OF VOICES AND EXPERIENCES. THAT INCLUDED, YOU KNOW, STUDENT AND PARENT VOICES ALL THE WAY THROUGH EDUCATORS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. AND IT WAS ALL IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO REVIEW AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE THE ITEMS THAT ALREADY EXISTED IN THE SCHOOL SAFETY CLEARINGHOUSE TO RECOMMEND ADDITIONS OR INCLUSIONS TO SPECIFICALLY ADVISE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ON SCHOOL SAFETY MATTERS. YOU ONLY HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET ONCE. HOW FAR DID YOU EVEN GET IN? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST AND AT THIS MOMENT, YOUR LAST MEETING? YES. IT’S TRUE. WE HAD ONE MEETING. AND THAT MEETING WAS REALLY A VERY PRODUCTIVE, ACTUALLY. WE SET A TONE THAT THIS WASN’T ABOUT ANYBODY’S PERSONAL AGENDA. THIS WAS ABOUT SCHOOL SAFETY. AND WE GOT INTO THE WORKING GROUPS AND STARTED HAMMERING OUT A PLAN AS TO HOW WE WERE GOING TO ADDRESS THE DIFFERENT CHARGES THAT EACH OF THE WORKING GROUPS HAD. YOU RECEIVED A MEMO FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. SO WHAT WHAT DOES THE MEMO SAY EXACTLY? AND WHAT DID IT SAY ABOUT THE STATUS OF THIS PANEL? IT WASN’T DISBANDED. IT WAS THEY WANT TO REEVALUATE THE MEMBERSHIP. PRESIDENT TRUMP IN HIS FIRST TERM, WAS THE ONE WHO STOOD UP THE ORIGINAL CLEARINGHOUSE. THERE’S A NEW SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY. SO IN MY MIND, I’M THINKING THEY PROBABLY WANT TO RELOOK AT IT AND DECIDE WHETHER THEY WANT TO CHANGE THE MAKEUP AND OR DIRECTIONAL FOCUS OF THE OF THE BOARD. I THINK OFTEN WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT SCHOOL SAFETY, A LOT OF PEOPLE I KNOW JUMP RIGHT TO, YOU KNOW, YOU PUT UP METAL DETECTORS IN THE FRONT OF THE SCHOOL, BUT ACTUALLY IT’S MUCH MORE COMPLICATED AND COMPLEX THAN THAT. YOU’RE 100% RIGHT. IT TAKES A LOT OF THINGS TO MAKE A SCHOOL SAFE. FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN DO A WAY BETTER JOB OF MAKING SURE THAT KIDS FEEL REALLY CONNECTED TO THEIR SCHOOL AND HAVE A MEANINGFUL CONNECTION WITH AN ADULT, AND THAT SCHOOLS ARE WELCOMING PLACES WHERE KIDS FEEL LIKE THEY’RE SEEN AND HEARD, AND THEY HAVE A SENSE OF AGENCY. THE SECOND PRACTICE AND LEARN HOW TO DO EFFECTIVE THREAT ASSESSMENTS, PRACTICE THEIR SAFETY DRILLS. THIRD IS THE WHOLE INTERACTING WITH THEIR COMMUNITIES. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION APPROACHED THESE ISSUES VERY DIFFERENTLY. HOW DO YOU ENGAGE SO THAT YOU HAVE A SORT OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES? AND THEN THE FINAL ONE WOULD BE, WHAT KINDS OF THINGS WOULD WE ASK FOR IN POLICY THAT COULD BE HELPFUL TO ENSURE THAT SCHOOLS ARE SAFER? ARE YOU HOPEFUL, IN FACT, THAT WE ARE AT ANY POINT GOING TO BE ABLE TO STOP WHAT I BELIEVE IS AN EPIDEMIC OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS? I AM 100% HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP THIS. AND AND IF NOT ENTIRELY, TOTALLY STOP IT, BUT SUPER MINIMIZE IT. WE HAVE WORK IN EDUCATION AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH AND SUPPORTS AND, YOU KNOW, POLICY WORK THROUGH THE COMMITTEE WAS STARTING TO WORK ON THESE ISSUES. LIKE, WHAT COULD WE CLARIFY AS LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT ALREADY EXISTS? AND THEN HOW COULD WE FILL IN THE GAPS THAT THAT ARE MISSING? RONN NOZOE IS THE CEO OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. IT’S SO NICE TO CHAT WITH YOU

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