Newtown, CT — Today, Congress voted to approve a Fiscal Year 2021 spending package that included $79 million in funding for evidence-based school safety programs under the STOP School Violence Act.
Sandy Hook Promise applauds Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Grassley (R-IO), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as well as Representatives Charlie Crist (D-FL), John Rutherford (R-FL), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Val Demings (D-FL), Steve Stivers (R-OH), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), and Susan Brooks (R-IN) for leading the effort to prevent school shootings, violence, and youth suicide in our nation and issued the following statement:
“Violence and suicide are proven to be preventable when we teach students and adults to ‘know the signs’ and reach out when they see someone hurting or need help themselves. This critical funding will save lives,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and the father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy. “We especially need support for students struggling with suicide and suicidal ideation right now—something that has only increased with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The FY 2021 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that passed the House of Representatives increases the Department of Justice’s STOP School Violence Act funding from $125 million to $132 million for school violence prevention grants to states, local governments, and Tribes. The funding is for the purposes of training students and school personnel to identify signs of violence and intervene early to prevent people from hurting themselves or others. The funding can also be used for evidence-based suicide prevention training and anti-bullying programming.
The STOP School Violence Act was introduced in the House of Representatives before the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to build off of the research and lessons learned from Sandy Hook and other tragic shootings and scale proven, evidence-based early intervention programming to schools across the country to prevent future school shootings, suicides, and other forms of school violence. It was passed as part of the FY2018 omnibus funding bill. Sandy Hook Promise proudly worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 that will train millions more students and adults to “know the signs” of gun violence and how to act to prevent it.
###
About the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund
Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund champions a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.