VEA to form task force to ensure student and staff safety

The Virginia Education Association will form a task force to study school safety and propose actions to protect students and staff from gun violence, President Jim Livingston announced today.

“From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Parkland, our students and our schools have been left traumatized by school shootings,” Livingston said. “The time for action is now. Our task force will take a broad view of the problem and possible solutions, because surely answers will not come from a narrow focus on single proposals such as expanding the use of metal detectors or arming teachers.”

Livingston will be reaching out to representatives of numerous groups to join the VEA Task Force on Student and Staff Safety, including school administrators and school boards, parent and citizen groups, law enforcement, elected officials, and the Northam administration, in addition to appointed representatives from the VEA membership, he said.

Last week, House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox announced the formation of a committee to study school safety, but that effort will not address the role of guns in schools and society. The VEA task force is taking a different path because “when the safety of our children is involved, comprehensive threats deserve comprehensive solutions,” Livingston said.

The task force will be charged with making recommendations by Aug. 31, Livingston said.