Multiple Bills Affecting School Security Heard At Oklahoma Capitol

At the Oklahoma Capitol, lawmakers spent the morning talking about legislation to improve school safety. As they continue to work towards a budget for 2025, they’re looking at where all of the education dollars will be appropriated.

More than a dozen bills were heard in the House Education Subcommittee Monday morning, as lawmakers work to keep Oklahoma students and educators safe.

“We want our teachers trained,” said Rep. Dick Lowe (R-Amber).

House bill 4016 would pay for teachers to be trained in crisis management and ways to deescalate situations before law enforcement shows up.

“This would put a revolving fund in that to let that training happen for our teachers and try to make them as safe as we can,” said Rep. Lowe.

The state legislature approved $150 million for school safety in 2024. Representative Anthony Moore is authoring a bill that would provide additional funding to improve security in state colleges.

“This bill kind of mirrors that and is a request to make the same impact on our higher education campuses,” said Rep. Moore.

Other lawmakers in the committee say they’re in favor of increased funding for school security.

“Given what's happened in Uvalde and other states around the country we definitely need to act,” said Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa).

House Bill 3860 would allow law enforcement to tap into school security cameras in an emergency.

“As they get the call, they can flip a switch and look at the cameras and they will be formatting a game plan while they're in route,” said Rep. Ross Ford (R-Broken Arrow).

Ford says the legislation would help in rural schools that may not have the top technology.

“This bill will allow for any radio or camera system to be able to be shared with other individuals and with law enforcement,” said Rep. Ford.

Ford says this would not replace school resource officers, it will just add another layer of security.

“Doesn't matter how much you spend on your cameras, they can make them interoperable with other people,” said Rep. Ford. 

Also passing through the committee, House Bill 3913 would direct the State Board of Education to establish a one-year pilot program to incentivize phone-free spaces. Schools that participate in the program could use the money to buy equipment to store the cell phones, such as cubbies or pouches.

The bill would allow local control, leaving the exact method up to each district.

During committee, some lawmakers brought up safety concerns, but the author, Representative Chad Caldwell, explains the bill would require schools to have a policy in place for students to be able to access their phones in an emergency.

“There really are a lot of different pathways here in which schools could accomplish this. I think the goal here is to get our students off their cell phones and to the front of the classroom where they belong,” said Rep. Caldwell.

All of the bills discussed in Monday’s committee were passed unanimously and will now move to the full House Appropriations and Budget Committee for hearings.