Newtown, CT — The “Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act,” or “STOP School Violence Act” provides a real, actionable opportunity for more schools and districts to prevent tragedy before lives are lost.
The STOP School Violence Act was introduced in the House of Representatives before the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to build on the research and lessons learned from Sandy Hook and other tragic shootings and scale proven early intervention programming to schools across the country to prevent future school shootings, suicides, and other forms of school violence and victimization. It was passed and signed into law on March 28, 2018, as part of the Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus funding bill. Sandy Hook Promise proudly worked with Republicans and Democrats to write and pass this legislation.
Four out of five school shooters tell someone about their plans ahead of time – and 69% tell more than one person. When our students and educators are trained in how to identify signs of gun violence and to intervene, such as through Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs programs, they can prevent tragedies in their communities and save lives. Our proven programs have already helped avert multiple school shootings.
The STOP School Violence Act annual grants to state and local education agencies through the Bureau of Justice Assistance to bring evidence-based programs and strategies, learned since Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook, to schools. This will help train millions more students to prevent school violence BEFORE a weapon ever enters a school campus.
The STOP School Violence Act was introduced in January 2018 to scale proven, evidence-based early intervention programming to schools across the country to prevent future school shootings, suicides, and other forms of school violence, based on the research and lessons learned from Sandy Hook and other tragic shootings.
The legislation authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to states for the purposes of training students, school personnel, and law enforcement to identify signs of violence and intervene to prevent people from hurting themselves or others. The legislation also encourages the development and operation of anonymous reporting systems, and formation of school threat assessment and intervention teams to help schools intake and triage threats before tragedy strikes.
In Fiscal Year 2018, Sandy Hook Promise partnered with six states and 13 school districts to train 2.6 million youth and adults how to identify, assess, and get help for individuals who may be at-risk of hurting themselves or others in order to stop violence BEFORE it can occur. Now, with further federal support of these lifesaving programs, SHP and other organizations will be able to partner with states, school districts, and tribal organizations to protect millions more from violence.
To date, Sandy Hook Promise has trained more than 7.5 million youth and adults on 14,000+ schools in its Know the Signs programs that focus on prevention to help end the epidemic of gun violence. Through these no-cost programs, Sandy Hook Promise has averted multiple school shooting plots, teen suicides, and other acts of violence.
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Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children. Through its life-saving, evidence-informed “Know the Signs” prevention programs, SHP educates and empowers youth and adults to recognize, intervene, and get help for individuals who may be socially isolated and/or at risk of hurting themselves or others. Through nonpartisan policy and partnerships, SHP advances gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education at the state and federal levels that protect all children from gun violence in their schools, homes, and communities. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Learn more at www.sandyhookpromise.org