Franklin County law impresses legislators
It is no question that the recent Parkland, Fla., school shooting has shaken much of the nation and caused various responses, like student protests and legislators taking action to change laws. Franklin County authorities say local school systems have been ahead of the game for the past five years with the only school safety law of its kind in the state of Alabama.
Feb. 23 state representatives Johnny Mack Morrow and Allen Farley held a press conference in Russellville at the A.W. Todd Centre to discuss this innovative law and the possibility of extending it statewide.
Law 2013-268 was passed in 2013, spurred by Morrow and former senator Roger Bedford, who worked with Morrow to produce House Bill 404, which became law 2013-268.
“Johnny Mack Morrow’s determination and passion and the bipartisan effort that pushed this bill forward speaks to the common sense of it,” Bedford said.
The bill states that under the discretion of school administrators, an emergency security force can be created in conjunction with the Franklin County Sheriff’s office and the Russellville Police Department. Members of the security force serve on a volunteer basis and can be current employees, former employees or community members of the school’s district. According to Farley, the volunteers are to be thoroughly vetted and trained before being allowed to start work in the schools.
“When I was writing the bill to get this law approved statewide, I made sure there was a focus on the individuals being trained. They will be vetted and interviewed to make sure that they have not only the proper skillset but also the proper mindset,” Farley said.
Farley submitted the bill Feb. 22, the day before the press conference. Farley said after the Parkland shooting, he contacted Morrow and asked him if he could contact Franklin County superintendents. When he spoke with the superintendents, he asked if they thought the law was working and keeping them safe. With an affirmative response, Farley went on to write the bill to propose enforcing this law statewide.
Farley said this is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. “We need to forget about R’s and D’s and talk about families,” he said.
Franklin County Superintendent Greg Hamilton, Russellville City Superintendent Heath Grimes, Sheriff Shannon Oliver and Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett also spoke at the press conference and delivered their views on the subject matter – with necessary vagueness.
“Keeping our children and faculty safe is our top priority, but I believe revealing all of the details of the plan would compromise its safety and integrity,” Hamilton said.
He said the county school system works closely with the sheriff’s office, and Oliver knows all of the details and who exactly the volunteers are.
The superintendents and authorities emphasized this law is not for the purpose of arming teachers.
“I don’t believe all teachers should have a gun. That opens up the possibility of causing unintentional harm,” Grimes said.
As part of the conference, Morrow and Bedford presented a resolution to Hamilton from Gov. Kay Ivey recognizing the law’s effectiveness and naming Franklin County as the safest county school system in Alabama.
“There will always be people who want to harm others,” Morrow said. “We must recognize this and do everything we can to protect our children.”
According to the law enforcement officials and superintendents, this law has done just that – protected the children of Franklin County. They said the presence of active resources on local campuses serves as a deterrent for those who might want to cause harm.
