D.C. Council is looking for a way to make schools safer in the wake of the shooting at Ballou Senior High School on Feb. 3.
A bill debated during an open D.C. Council hearing last Monday would create a Metropolitan Police Department School Safety office and would shift the responsibility of school safety to the chief of police.
The MPD School Safety Office would have its own director, who would be appointed by Police Chief Charles Ramsey.
Council member Kevin P. Chavous (D-Ward 7) introduced the bill on Feb 17.
"By allowing the police department to control school security we hope to utilize their vast experience, training and expertise to create a safe learning environment for our children," Chavous said in a press release.
Assistant Chief Winston Robinson Jr. spoke at the hearing. He said schools need more School Resource Officers, but creating a new department is not necessary for school safety.
"Chief Ramsey and Interim Schools Superintendent [Elfreda] Massie recently met on this issue, and they are in total agreement that in order to improve school safety, all of us need to think more broadly than just moving authority for security management over to the police," Robinson said.
