ALBANY, NY — The New York State Senate voted on March 6 to pass a package of school safety measures that supporters say would strengthen security and help keep students safe. The bills increase the ability of schools to hire qualified security personnel; create new state funding mechanisms for infrastructure investments that improve school safety; increase access to school-based mental health services; expand state actions and intelligence coordination to protect schools against attack, and strengthen penalties for crimes on school grounds.

State Sen. John Bonacic voted in favor of the measure. “As legislators, it is our duty to make sure that our students and teachers are safe when they go to school.”

The legislation would create a school resource officers’ education aid program and grant availability, provide peace-officer status for school resource officers, adjust the earning limitations for school resource officers, create a security hardware aid program, create a guardiansfor-schools license plate, create a new mental-health services coordinator aid program and grants, define school shootings as terrorism, and improve intelligence to prevent attacks and increase active shooter drills.