Many of us, or young people we know, have been put through school shooter drills. Research shows they're more traumatizing than helpful.
That's why we're fighting to pass a bill that will give parents advanced notice for school shooter drills and allow them to opt their kids out. The bill will make sure drills don't mimic real-life situations, and schools will offer mental health resource information afterward.
State senators needs to hear from you: Make school shooter drills less traumatizing >>
Dear Lawmaker,
As a Californian, I urge you to support AB 1858. This bill would bring a trauma-informed approach to active shooter drills, making sure that students, teachers, and parents are notified in advance of the drills and that parents can opt their kids out of participating. It would also make sure drills don't mimic real-life situations, and schools would make mental health resource information readily available to students after the drills.
Our schools want young people to be safe, but requiring them to participate in traumatizing active shooter drills is more harmful than it is helpful. There's almost no data to show that active shooter drills are effective; in fact, research shows that these drills are linked to increased anxiety and depression for students, teachers, and parents.
If schools are going to continue administering active shooter drills, they need to be as trauma-informed as possible. We can get there with legislation like AB 1858. Thank you