If our kids are going to learn to the best of their abilities, they need, first and foremost, to be safe. It’s something I said in my State of the State address two years ago. And since then, we’ve been working to make reality school safety plans for each of our schools. This week, here at McKean High School in the Red Clay District, I signed Senate Bill 233 which creates a formal statewide framework for comprehensive school safety plans. At the end of the day, we want our kids to be free from harm.

Our goal is for each school and district to have in place a plan for protecting its students from whatever may happen during the course of a day, be it threats from Mother Nature or human nature, including severe weather, fires, chemical spills, or possible violence. We owe our thanks to the police and school resource officers, law enforcement professionals, first responders and administrators at the state and local level who are working to help schools fully develop plans tailored to the particular layouts of each school. Every day, when our children board their buses, we hope for the best, but we also care enough to plan for the worst.

The bill I signed this week is part of an ambitious, multi-year effort to make our schools and the students attending our schools safer, so our teachers and staff can focus on what they do best: educating our children. By working together with schools, communities and public safety personnel, we continue to do more to prepare for our future and keep Delaware moving forward.

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