School Safety Drill Research Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3432 To require the Secretary of Education to enter into an agreement with the National Academies to conduct a study on the possible mental health effects of a lockdown drill or active shooter drill in elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Education to enter into an agree- ment with the National Academies to conduct a study on the possible mental health effects of a lockdown drill or active shooter drill in elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Safety Drill 4 Research Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3432 IH (1) The Pew Research Center found that 57 1 percent of teenage students worry about the possi- 2 bility of a shooting happening at their school. 3 (2) The National Center for Education Statis- 4 tics found that 96 percent of public schools in the 5 United States conducted lockdown drills in 2015 and 6 2016. 7 (3) According to Steve Schlozman, a professor 8 of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, children in 9 proximity to frightening circumstances are at risk 10 for lasting symptoms, including ‘‘everything from 11 worsening academic and social progression to de- 12 pression, anxiety, poor sleep, post-traumatic symp- 13 tomatology and substance abuse.’’. 14 SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT ON MENTAL EFFECTS OF 15 LOCKDOWN DRILL OR ACTIVE SHOOTER 16 DRILL IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 17 SCHOOLS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 19 enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 20 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the Na- 21 tional Academies shall conduct a study on the mental 22 health effects resulting from a lockdown drill or active 23 shooter drill in elementary and secondary schools. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3432 IH (b) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted under sub- 1 section (a) shall include— 2 (1) an assessment of the extent to which a 3 lockdown drill or active shooter drill results in ad- 4 verse psychological effects on students, faculty, and 5 staff of elementary and secondary schools; 6 (2) a comparison of the mental effects of a 7 lockdown drill or active shooter drill, including— 8 (A) the effects of active shooter simula- 9 tions, full-scale lockdowns, and secured-perim- 10 eter lockouts; 11 (B) the effects of announced versus unan- 12 nounced drills; and 13 (C) the effects of drills of varying fre- 14 quencies; 15 (3) an analysis of the effects of a lockdown drill 16 or active shooter drill on— 17 (A) students of different ages or grade lev- 18 els; and 19 (B) students with intellectual or develop- 20 mental disabilities; 21 (4) the identification of best practices for— 22 (A) accommodating— 23 (i) students of different ages and 24 grade levels; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3432 IH (ii) students and staff with a history 1 of prior trauma; 2 (iii) students for whom English is a 3 second language; and 4 (iv) students with developmental and 5 physical disabilities; 6 (B) training faculty and staff to recognize 7 traumatic stress reactions; 8 (C) the provision of mental health supports 9 during and after a drill by a school-based men- 10 tal health services provider; 11 (D) discussing school violence with stu- 12 dents; and 13 (E) keeping parents and the community in- 14 formed about drills, including— 15 (i) the type of information commu- 16 nicated to parents, emergency dispatchers, 17 and the community before and after a drill; 18 and 19 (ii) the resources given to assist par- 20 ents in talking with children about con- 21 cerns or fears related to violence at school; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3432 IH (5) an analysis of other studies and reports ex- 1 amining the effects of a lockdown drill or active 2 shooter drill on student and staff mental health. 3 (c) REPORT.—The agreement entered into under sub- 4 section (a) shall include a requirement that, not later than 5 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 6 National Academies shall— 7 (1) compile a report on the results of the study 8 conducted under subsection (a); 9 (2) make such report publicly available on the 10 website of the National Academies; and 11 (3) provide a briefing to Congress on the results 12 of the study conducted under subsection (a). 13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 14 authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out this 15 Act. 16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini- 17 tions apply: 18 (1) ACTIVE SHOOTER SIMULATION.—The term 19 ‘‘active shooter simulation’’ means a drill in which 20 acts mimicking an active shooter situation are simu- 21 lated, including any of the following: 22 (A) The activation of emergency alarms. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3432 IH (B) The presence of an active shooter or 1 law enforcement officer, or both, inside a 2 school. 3 (C) The firing of a gun with blanks. 4 (D) The sound of a gun being fired. 5 (E) An attempt by an intruder to breach 6 classroom doors inside a school. 7 (F) The expectation that individuals inside 8 the school will fight an intruder. 9 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen- 10 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 11 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 13 (3) FULL-SCALE LOCKDOWN.—The term ‘‘full- 14 scale lockdown’’ means a drill in which all doors of 15 a school are locked, all windows of the school are 16 covered, and students and faculty must remain silent 17 and hidden, but in which an active shooter is not 18 simulated. 19 (4) LOCKDOWN DRILL OR ACTIVE SHOOTER 20 DRILL.—The term ‘‘lockdown drill or active shooter 21 drill’’ means a procedure in which a school practices 22 an emergency protocol designed to protect students 23 and faculty against assault by an armed assailant. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3432 IH (5) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDER.— 1 The term ‘‘mental health services provider’’ means a 2 State-licensed or State-certified school counselor, 3 school psychologist, or school social worker, or a 4 mental health professional qualified under State law 5 to provide mental health services to children and 6 adolescents. 7 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 8 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 9 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 11 (7) SECURED-PERIMETER LOCKOUT.—The term 12 ‘‘secured-perimeter lockout’’ means a drill in which 13 the outside building doors of a school are locked and 14 there is no entry or exit allowed to or from the 15 school, but teachers continue with instruction. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3432.IH H3432 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS