EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee warns the Biden administration that “confusion” over funding granted in last year’s bipartisan school safety bill could lead to “dangerous delays” in protecting campus from mass shootings.
Cassidy called on Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to direct his department to clarify that schools can use funds from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to increase their safety and conduct safety training. He also requested a written action plan detailing how the government plans to remove “state administrative impediments to district issuance of dollars” under the law.
He said school officials are struggling to access the funds needed to “reinforce schools” – which includes measures such as fortification with single entry points, strengthening windows and doors and fences.
“I share your concern at how slow BSCA funding is moving and agree that addressing mental health is crucial, particularly the mental health of students in the wake of the pandemic and school closures. However, physical improvements and strengthening schools are also imperative to ensure the safety of our students and therefore included in BSCA,” Cassidy wrote in a letter to Cardona.
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Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, August 8, 2022. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
“State and district leaders need to know that they can and should use these funds to toughen schools. Any confusion about this fact could lead to dangerous delays in protecting our students,” he added.
The senator was a key negotiator on the historic firearms and school safety measure, which provided the Department of Education with over $1 billion to spend on school mental health services and another $1 billion for school improvements and support for government crisis interventions Introduced penalties for buying straw and trading in arms.
Cassidy’s letter was sent to a Christian elementary school in Nashville shortly after a mass shooting earlier this week. A 28-year-old former private school student returned to campus on March 27 and opened fire, killing three students and three teachers before being shot dead by police.
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Memorials for the six victims killed in a mass shooting are placed in front of the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Three adults and three children were killed at the school on Monday. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
The Biden administration has put renewed pressure on federal lawmakers to impose stricter gun control measures in the wake of the shooting — something highly unlikely in a divided Congress.
But at least one academic official, Dr. Cade Brumley, Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education, pointed out that the administration still needs to improve on the measures already in place.
Brumley told Fox News Digital that his schools “fought” to access the funds they needed and credited Cassidy with helping them get dollars for “structured access control.”
“My intention was to use these unique funds to harden our school boundaries. Initially, we struggled to get ED’s approval to use the funds in this way,” Brumley said.
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Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., wrote a letter to Cardona on Thursday warning of “dangerous delays” in introducing the bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Reuters)
those of the Ministry of Education Website for the BSCA does not explicitly display a section for school security. On a document with frequently asked questions about the funding program, it prohibits the use of funds for “school construction”.
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“The department must provide a written action plan within two weeks detailing how it will provide states and districts with explicit guidance and technical assistance in using BSCA funds for school hardening,” Cassidy wrote. He added that this plan needs to be made public and that Cardona’s department should provide technical support on the use of the law to access security funding.
He warned: “If any of these deadlines are not met, I would ask for a personal briefing immediately.”
Earlier this month, Cardona spoke at an event where he slammed states he accused of being slow to provide funding to the BSCA. “We have to do better,” the Biden official said. “Our students are in great need now.”
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