Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C-Schoharie) joined members of the Assembly Minority Conference and Capt. Tracey Quinn of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office at a press conference this week in Albany to share the findings of their Task Force on School Safety & Security, which had taken place throughout the last year. The findings offer a plethora of solutions that would better enable schools to safeguard students and staff, address mental health concerns and promote a fear-free learning environment.

“It is absolutely essential that students – and educators – associate schools as a safe haven,” said Tague. “If it were up to me, the days of sitting by and watching tragedy after tragedy unfold while more students across our nation are learning to fear going to school would come to an end. I believe our plan will address that, and it could be a model for other states because it opens up the conversation no one is having. It gives schools the tools to safeguard themselves and provides mental health support, and our plan is based on listening to the stakeholders involved. These are the solutions they want to see, so it is our hope Albany will start to listen and take action.”

A full copy of the report is attached. The omnibus plan offers a wide range of solutions including allowing schools the option to hire school resource officers, providing capital grants to enhance school safety infrastructure and direct training and support for mental health program creation. Additionally, the plan suggests better communication between stakeholders, more effective emergency plans and calls for the creation of the New York State Division of School Safety and Security to better ensure the state can prevent tragedies like the one that took place in Tennessee earlier this week.

EDITORS’ NOTE: A full copy of the report is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/167TgHbMy1ihXCYHrln7RT5rAnG9Nsgyl/view