WASHINGTON — Indiana senator Mike Braun and other lawmakers, including Kansas senator Roger Marshall, have introduced the new Safe Schools Act.
The bill, which was introduced Thursday, would allow COVID-relief funds to be used by schools in order to improve their security. The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – or ESSER – Fund would provide the money.
Senator Braun Tweeted this statement about the bill: “Too often our schools are tragically viewed as ‘soft targets.’ The remaining COVID funds that have been largely unused or mismanaged would be well spent protecting our children by hardening schools and bolstering school security.”
According to a press release from Senator Braun’s office, the Indiana Department of Education did not use the majority of the money it was given by the ESSER Fund. Around the United States, more than 150 billion of those dollars have gone unused. If passed, the Safe Schools Act would allow that money to go toward adding things like panic buttons, video surveillance, and armed security personnel to schools.
