Lawmakers: School safety bill passes House on Day 24. Critics say it doesn't go far enough

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Rep. Jasmine Clark's (D-Lilburn) daughter attends her swearing-in for the 2023 session. 

Credit: Sarah Kallis

The Georgia House passed a bill that would mandate annual intruder drills in Georgia Public Schools.  

House Bill 147, sponsored by Rep. Will Wade (R-Dawsonville), said the bill will improve safety in schools. The bill carries the Governor's stamp of approval, but was heavily debated on the House floor.  

"I believe that we need to see things that prevent violence, period, in our schools, especially to protect our students. And our families," Wade said.  

Democratic opponents say that the bill does not go far enough to protect children and criticized Republicans for refusing to entertain gun safety bills.  

"I wonder how many of you have ever actually asked the children who are subjected to these active shooter or intruder drills in our schools if they actually feel safer?" said Rep. Jasmine Clark (D-Lilburn). "Well, I did."

Clark said her daughter, in eighth grade, is concerned that active shooter drills won't be effective if the shooter is a student. The U.S. Office of Accountability reported that half of all school shooters are current or former students.  

"This bill will very likely pass today," Clark said.  "And everyone who voted ‘Yes’ are gonna go pat themselves on the back as if they actually did something. Well, I'm here to tell you, right here in this well, you did nothing but make yourself feel better. But you did nothing to make our students feel safer."

Some Democrats also raised concerns about the drills impacting student mental health and burdening teachers. A study from Georgia Tech examined the mental health effects of active shooter drills on students ages five and older, as well as parents and teachers. The study found that active shooter drills were associated with a 42% increase in anxiety and stress, a 39% increase in depression, and a 23% increase in psychological health problems. Rep. Ann Allen Westbrook (D-Savannah) said that the burden to reduce school shooting fatalities should be on lawmakers, not students and teachers.  

Rep. Leesa Hagan (R-Lyons), a former schoolteacher, said that the drills are a necessary tool for schools.  

"They shouldn't have to do these drills," she said. "They should be at our schools, and they should be learning. But the sad fact is these things do happen."

HB 147 also includes provisions for an optional anti-gang certification for teachers.  

The bill passed 148 to 20, and now moves to the Senate.