I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3872 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 JUNE 6, 2023 Ms. PETTERSEN (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. MACE, and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 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 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3872 IH SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON MENTAL EFFECTS OF 1 LOCKDOWN DRILL OR ACTIVE SHOOTER 2 DRILL IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 3 SCHOOLS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 5 enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 6 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the Na- 7 tional Academies shall conduct a study on the mental 8 health effects resulting from a lockdown drill or active 9 shooter drill in elementary and secondary schools. 10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study conducted under sub- 11 section (a) shall include— 12 (1) an assessment of the extent to which a 13 lockdown drill or active shooter drill results in ad- 14 verse psychological effects on students, faculty, and 15 staff of elementary and secondary schools; 16 (2) a comparison of the mental effects of a 17 lockdown drill or active shooter drill, including— 18 (A) the effects of active shooter simula- 19 tions, full-scale lockdowns, and secured-perim- 20 eter lockouts; 21 (B) the effects of announced versus unan- 22 nounced drills; and 23 (C) the effects of drills of varying fre- 24 quencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3872 IH (3) an analysis of the effects of a lockdown drill 1 or active shooter drill on— 2 (A) students of different ages or grade lev- 3 els; and 4 (B) students with intellectual or develop- 5 mental disabilities; 6 (4) the identification of best practices for— 7 (A) accommodating— 8 (i) students of different ages and 9 grade levels; 10 (ii) students and staff with a history 11 of prior trauma; 12 (iii) students for whom English is a 13 second language; and 14 (iv) students with developmental and 15 physical disabilities; 16 (B) training faculty and staff to recognize 17 traumatic stress reactions; 18 (C) the provision of mental health supports 19 during and after a drill by a school-based men- 20 tal health services provider; 21 (D) discussing school violence with stu- 22 dents; and 23 (E) keeping parents and the community in- 24 formed about drills, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3872 IH (i) the type of information commu- 1 nicated to parents, emergency dispatchers, 2 and the community before and after a drill; 3 and 4 (ii) the resources given to assist par- 5 ents in talking with children about con- 6 cerns or fears related to violence at school; 7 and 8 (5) an analysis of other studies and reports ex- 9 amining the effects of a lockdown drill or active 10 shooter drill on student and staff mental health. 11 (c) REPORT.—The agreement entered into under sub- 12 section (a) shall include a requirement that, not later than 13 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 14 National Academies shall— 15 (1) compile a report on the results of the study 16 conducted under subsection (a); 17 (2) make such report publicly available on the 18 website of the National Academies; and 19 (3) provide a briefing to Congress on the results 20 of the study conducted under subsection (a). 21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 22 authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out this 23 Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3872 IH (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini- 1 tions apply: 2 (1) ACTIVE SHOOTER SIMULATION.—The term 3 ‘‘active shooter simulation’’ means a drill in which 4 acts mimicking an active shooter situation are simu- 5 lated, including any of the following: 6 (A) The activation of emergency alarms. 7 (B) The presence of an active shooter or 8 law enforcement officer, or both, inside a 9 school. 10 (C) The firing of a gun with blanks. 11 (D) The sound of a gun being fired. 12 (E) An attempt by an intruder to breach 13 classroom doors inside a school. 14 (F) The expectation that individuals inside 15 the school will fight an intruder. 16 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen- 17 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 18 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 20 (3) FULL-SCALE LOCKDOWN.—The term ‘‘full- 21 scale lockdown’’ means a drill in which all doors of 22 a school are locked, all windows of the school are 23 covered, and students and faculty must remain silent 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3872 IH and hidden, but in which an active shooter is not 1 simulated. 2 (4) LOCKDOWN DRILL OR ACTIVE SHOOTER 3 DRILL.—The term ‘‘lockdown drill or active shooter 4 drill’’ means a procedure in which a school practices 5 an emergency protocol designed to protect students 6 and faculty against assault by an armed assailant. 7 (5) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDER.— 8 The term ‘‘mental health services provider’’ means a 9 State-licensed or State-certified school counselor, 10 school psychologist, or school social worker, or a 11 mental health professional qualified under State law 12 to provide mental health services to children and 13 adolescents. 14 (6) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 15 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 16 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 18 (7) SECURED-PERIMETER LOCKOUT.—The term 19 ‘‘secured-perimeter lockout’’ means a drill in which 20 the outside building doors of a school are locked and 21 there is no entry or exit allowed to or from the 22 school, but teachers continue with instruction. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Jul 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3872.IH H3872 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB