SEN. MORSE & GOV. RITTER ANNOUNCE SCHOOL SAFETY BILL

DENVER—This morning Governor Bill Ritter joined Senator John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) to announce Senate Bill 1, which will create a Colorado School Safety Resource Center to assist schools in preventing, responding to and recovering from emergencies.

The bill would establish a resource center within the Department of Public Safety to gather best practices from safe schools around the country. The bill would also create a pilot program in five districts to begin to implement these best practices. The Center would blend expertise from education, law enforcement, mental health, and social service professionals as a resource for schools and communities. Colorado would join approximately 21 other states that have adopted some form of a state-wide school safety center.

"Senate Bill 1 strives to ensure the safety of our schoolchildren by gathering real world solutions and best practices from safe schools around the country,” remarked Morse. “Our children are among our most precious resources; there can be no exception to their safety."

SB08-01 will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.