Skip to main content

Schneider, Bost School Safety Proposal Signed into Law

March 23, 2018

Bipartisan legislation helps schools acquire panic buttons to contact law enforcement in emergencies

Today, a bipartisan proposal focused on improving school safety introduced by U.S. Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Mike Bost (R-IL) was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The legislation will help schools acquire panic buttons for classrooms, offering a more immediate method of notifying law enforcement and first responders in case of a medical emergency, active school shooter incident, or natural disaster.

The Schneider-Bost measure was signed into law as a part of the omnibus federal spending bill. Schneider and Bost originally introduced the legislation in January as H.R. 4811, the Securing Our Schools Act, and it was later incorporated into H.R. 4909, the STOP School Violence Act, which passed the House in March by a vote of 407-10.

"We have a fundamental responsibility to protect our children and young people where they learn," said Schneider. "I am proud to see our bipartisan legislation become law and offer schools an additional layer of security in emergency situations. This should be just the start of our work here in Congress on solutions to reduce gun violence and improve student safety, and I will continue to push to build on this progress in the days ahead."

"As a former first responder, I know response time is vitally important during emergency situations," said Bost. "Seconds, let alone minutes, can mean the difference between life and death. We have panic buttons in banks, office buildings, and retail locations, there is no reason we shouldn't have them at our schools to protect our children. I'm proud to see this bipartisan, commonsense proposal to protect our kids signed into law."

Last week, Schneider and Bost both spoke on the House floor in support of the measure. Videos of Schneider's remarks and Bost's remarks are available online.

In January, the Securing Our Schools legislation was endorsed by the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Education Association.