U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, recently proposed an amendment during a House Appropriations Committee markup that would ensure no federal resources can be used to conduct mandatory active shooter drills in schools that do not give parents the choice to opt their students out of participation, according to a news release from the office of Gluesenkamp Perez.
The amendment passed through committee on a bipartisan basis.
“After my 3-year-old had to participate in an active shooter drill in day care, he started talking about shooting bad guys for the first time in his life,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “Another parent I know told me that their 14-year-old needed to start taking anxiety medication after being required to participate in one of these exercises. The data backs these stories up. There is no evidence that mandatory student involvement in active shooter drills decreases fatalities, but there is a lot of very clear evidence that these are profoundly psychologically traumatizing exercises. I’m heartened that my amendment to ensure that no federal dollars can be spent on active shooter drills by schools that don’t give parents the choice to opt their children out has passed the Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan basis. We must not burden the failure of adult society on the shoulders of children.”
Currently, the majority of states require all public schools to have an emergency response plan. These plans often include active shooter drills, which are associated with a 42% increase in stress among students as well as a 39% increase in depression, the release stated.
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s remarks in support of her amendment can be viewed on her X page, @RepMGP.
