Third time’s the charm for Oxford-inspired school safety bills?

• Legislation looking to bolster student, staff safety in schools is back before the Legislature for a third time
• The bills would streamline how law enforcement handles student-submitted crisis tips and require more active-shooter drills, among other things
• The bills came about after a shooting at Oxford High School more than three years ago left four students dead, prompting calls for change

LANSING — When a shooting at Oxford High School claimed the lives of four students in 2021, Michigan lawmakers vowed action on a handful of bills they said would increase and streamline school safety efforts statewide.

More than three years later, those same bills are back again before legislators in the hope that third time’s the charm for enacting major reform.

Before the state House Education and Workforce Committee on Wednesday was half of a 10-bill package aimed at mandating all Michigan schools to create a crisis team or emergency operations plan, increasing active-shooter drill days and streamlining how law enforcement handles student-submitted crisis tips, among other things.

“We do owe it to every student, teacher and parent to do everything in our power to make schools a place of safety and learning,” said state Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, a sponsor within the bill package. “That should always be a priority.”

Under Schmaltz’ legislation, schools would be required to create some form of emergency preparedness plan that would need to be reviewed with law enforcement every three years, starting July 1, 2026. Schools are currently required to complete a review with whichever local law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over their district every two years.

The board of a public school district, intermediate school district, or public charter school would also be required to staff a school crisis team. Membership would consist of the school’s principal, vice principal, a school resource officer and “any other appropriate school personnel.” 

That crisis team would be responsible for initiating lockdowns, assisting in the evacuation of staff and students from a building and reuniting children and parents following an emergency event.

“We must be proactive, not reactive, when it comes to protecting our kids,” Schmaltz said, calling the legislation a “real common-sense bill.”

Among other things, the entirety of the school safety package seeks to: 

• Lower the number of required fire practice drills from five to four, while increasing the number of active-shooter drills from three to four
• Require schools to employ at least one emergency and safety manager and at least one mental health coordinator
• Mandate the Michigan State Police and its Office of School Safety to create school safety and security training materials and provide annual training for staff and school resource officers on a slew of safety topics
• Require police to notify a school or nonpublic school within 24 hours of any credible tips they receive pertaining to a potential crisis

Those efforts are largely a reintroduction of Democrat-backed legislation which failed to reach Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk prior to the end of Democrats’ legislative trifecta in 2024.

RELATED: 

• Michigan school safety plan inches forward three years after Oxford shootings
• Michigan school safety bills stalled: ‘It’s inexcusable,’ Oxford dad says
• Michigan school safety task force prioritizes mental health, building security

That was a point of concern for state Rep. Carol Glanville, D-Walker, who said her mandatory training legislation lacked any of the input law enforcement, state and school officials gave last session on the bill. 

“Much of the work has been done on this,” she said, adding it “was disappointing to see” that House leadership “did not seem to have vetted that work.” 

“I like the bill the way that we got it to last term, and when I was asked to take it back up, I was grateful for that so that somebody else wouldn’t have to start from scratch,” Glanville said. “Unfortunately, the bill was given to me the day that it was enrolled without the changes that we had asked for last year.” 

As for what those changes were, Glanville did not go into detail.

To that, state Rep. Nancy DeBoer, a Holland Republican and committee chair, said the plan was “to work on this package through the break” — referencing the two weeks lawmakers will be out of the Capitol for their typically scheduled Spring Break. 

Lawmakers are next expected back in Lansing for legislative session in mid-April, though the Republican-led House will continue to hold committee meetings through Thursday.