Lawmakers Hold Hearing On School Safety

NBC-11, San Jose 5/3/07

Lawmakers and California State University officials looked into the issue of school safety Wednesday night.

The hearing at the Capitol occurred in the wake of last month's Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 students. The hearing focused on making schools safer, NBC 11 reported. One expert, who has studied the problem of violence on campus, said students were the first line of defense in preventing a disaster.

"There's been many, many shootings that have been thwarted," said USC professor Ron Astor. "Almost all of them have come from students coming forth and letting the authorities know and having the authorities respond in a very appropriate, quick, swift way."

Schools in California, especially on the university level, have taken the Virginia Tech lessons to heart, and many of them have launched their own emergency plans to protect students on campus.

In the California State University system, those plans were already working at all 23 campuses.

"We have an active shooter plan for instance on every one of our campuses," said Charles Reed, CSU Chancellor. "We practice worst-case scenarios with our police departments. We have communication plans in case horrific accidents or emergencies happen on our campus."

That included drills for a terrorist attack on campus, NBC 11 reported.

University of California President Robert Dynes testified that his 10 schools were also prepared. Dynes said they have added extra resources for mental health services and campus security.

Recent studies have shown a 50 percent drop nationwide in school violence.

State lawmakers said they want to make sure universities and schools in grades kindergarten through the 12th grade were doing everything they can to promote public safety on campus.