EDUCATION & SCHOOLS

Lawmakers gain insight into Utah’s school safety needs

Jan 17, 2025, 4:56 PM | Updated: 8:19 pm

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers got a closer look at how safe the state’s schools are.

All schools across the state have now completed an assessment required by law that details what types of security measures they do or do not have in place.

The Utah School Security Task Force learned the results of that assessment Friday during a hearing at the State Capitol.

The assessment is part of HB84, which was passed last year. The law aims to beef up school security and better prepare them against a catastrophe like a school shooting.

HB84 specifically requires nine new safety measures in schools. They include video surveillance of entrances, security film on ground-level windows, internal classroom door locks, bleed kits and first aid kits, and panic alert devices.

The Utah School Security Task Force meeting on Friday at the State Capitol (Mark Wetzel, KSL TV)

According to the results of the assessment, two-thirds of schools across the state reported having anywhere from three to six of the standards already in place. More than 21% have seven to nine standards in place.

Roughly 10% of Utah’s schools only meet one or two of the safety standards, according to the results.

“The bulk of our preparation is somewhere in the middle,” said Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, who chairs the task force. “Generally speaking, it’s probably about where we thought it was.”

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, speaking at the meeting with the Utah School Security Task Force (Mark Wetzel, KSL TV)

The task force voted Friday to take several steps to shore up school safety. They voted to supply first-aid kits and bleed kits to all schools. They also voted to start getting panic alert devices into classrooms.

Wilcox expressed optimism about the state’s efforts to address school safety.

“We’re far better off than we were when we started this,” he told KSL TV.

The Utah School Security Task Force meeting on Friday at the State Capitol (Mark Wetzel, KSL TV)

Friday’s meeting came just a few months after some members of the task force questioned whether all schools in the state were taking the new law seriously.

The task force also voted to spend money on creating an online dashboard that shares information on school safety with parents.

 

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Lawmakers gain insight into Utah’s school safety needs