Taft Union High School Shooting Underscores Need For Policy Reforms
CSBA continues to support a comprehensive approach to school safety
WEST SACRAMENTO – In the wake of yesterday's tragic shooting at Taft Union High School in Kern County, the California School Boards Association affirmed its intent to continue to provide our members with policy resources and training opportunities to improve the safety and security of their local school campuses.
"We are deeply saddened by the shooting yesterday at Taft Union High School. The current national and statewide dialog on gun safety and school safety is long overdue. It's tragic that the safety of school children is only now peaking on the state and national agenda due to the recent gun-related murders and attempted murders on school grounds," explained Vernon M. Billy, CSBA executive director. "CSBA is committed to working with members and state stakeholder groups to address all the risk factors that impact the safety of students before, during and after school."
School safety has long been a policy initiative and priority of CSBA. With this issue gaining momentum in local communities due to the recent shootings, CSBA launched an online repository the includes not only the association's safety guides and policy papers but also new tools and checklists for school district governance teams to help them ensure the currency of their schools' safety plans by the March 1 statewide deadline.
"We see our first obligation as providing our members with the tools they need to establish the right conditions for the safety and success of all students. However, we also shoulder the responsibility to broaden the dialog around this policy issue to include topics that are not currently part of the state or national dialog on school safety but should be," explained Billy. "The violence we've seen in the last month on school campuses is a symptom of other underlying problems. The real flash point for this violence stems from the social ills that are a part of society in general—the drug, gang and gun violence in local communities, limited community mental health services, student mental health, bullying, suicide and child abuse."
CSBA is the non-profit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards, and district and county office administrators to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than 6 million school-age children.