A statewide school-safety measure touted as the Kentucky legislature's top priority this year was unveiled on Wednesday, nearly a year after two students were killed in a shooting at a rural high school in the state.
The legislation calls for hiring a state school security marshal to bolster oversight of school-safety efforts by local school districts. The measure also sets a state goal of putting more school resource officers and mental health professionals in schools as deterrents to school violence, but only as soon as funding becomes available. But the measure's backers said it would create a framework as an important first step to bolster safety in Kentucky's schools. ... Creating the role of state school security marshal is seen as an important oversight role, lawmakers said.
The marshal would function similarly as the state's fire marshal and present an annual report about findings and recommendations, Wise said. Sanctions would be established for schools that fail to comply with submitting safety risk assessments or for correcting safety deficiencies