House Education Committee holds school safety hearing on the road

The Michigan House Education Committee met on the street Monday night to discuss school safety.

At a meeting at Sterling Heights High School, the committee heard from school mental health worker organizations about needs and staffing shortages.

Committee chair Rep. Matt Corézar (D-Plymouth) said it's important that lawmakers have access to stakeholders.

“I would love for committee members to hear from people who are experiencing this shortage every day. “This is great feedback for the committee to get as we move forward.”

The meeting was held as the commission's first school safety hearing of the year. However, the bipartisan School Safety Act was not on the agenda.

Corézar said the bill is not ready yet. But officials say he has been working on it in the background for more than a year.

“I think some of these bills are getting closer to being taken up in committee. But we're talking about children's lives, so it was important for them to get the job done.” Corézar said.

The bill was introduced more than a year ago, shortly after the Michigan State University shooting.

Legislative Republicans have accused House Democratic leaders of being slow to advance the policy.

Rep. Jamie Green (R-Richmond), vice chair of the House Education Committee, said it was time for the bill to get a hearing anyway.

She said she and some of her other Republican co-sponsors, many of whom are in their first term in the House, have been left out.

“The rest of the freshmen are still getting used to it,” Green said.

The package is a continuation of efforts dating back to the last Congress and the House School Safety Task Force, which was formed in response to the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.