FORT VALLEY, Ga. — A new Georgia house bill would require public schools to submit their school safety plans to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
Known as the Safe Schools Act, the bill would allow parents and guardians not to have their children participate in intruder alert drills, add an anti-gang street training program, and have all safety plans coordinate with their local law enforcement agency.
Fort Valley Middle School has one lead counselor who recognizes when students are not acting as themselves. Cletema Howard is new to the Peach County School District and was recently recognized as a 'Making a Difference' staff member in the school district. Howard says her background in professional counseling comes is helpful on the job.
"I have some students that come to me and say, 'Hey, I'm having issues at home and I don't know how to process,' so I help them with coping skills," she said.
Howard's job involves checking in with students who are absent, too. While there are no suspicions of students engaged in gang activity at the school, she says she knows how to handle the situation.
"I would actually just talk to them and try to deter them from doing things that would cause them to get in trouble," Howard said.
Sponsors of the bill include Will Wade, Jan Jones, Matt Dubnik, Chris Erwin, Bill Hitchen, and David Wilkerson.
Included in the bill are school safety plans that should cover natural disasters, hazardous materials, and acts of violence or terrorism. One exemption is private schools. They can come up with safety plans with input from parents, teachers, and students enrolled in the private school. While Peach County Middle School is a public school, principal Rodney Hester says their school safety plan is specific.
"Any type of drill we have -- fire drill, code red, have some type of emergency in the building -- we want to make sure everybody knows exactly what their role is, what responsibilities they have in that drill," Hester said.
Hester emphasizes the importance of caring for the students in the school and having parents trust their safety measures. He says he wants students' families to know they are in good hands.
"I look at each one of them as my own because when it comes to safety, I want them to come to school every day, be comfortable coming to school every day," Hester said.