By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed into law a school safety measure that includes legislation pushed by St. Joseph state Rep. Brenda Shields.
Shields, a Republican, sponsored legislation in the Missouri House requiring school districts to tighten security measures on their campuses.
“(It’s a) comprehensive bill that’s going to allow our teachers and our students to feel safe and when they feel safe, we know that quality learning happens,” Shields tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Shields sponsored House Bill 416, which was incorporated into Senate Bill 68, approved by the legislature and now signed into law.
The legislation requires school districts to adopt emergency operations plans and have annual school security assessments. It establishes standards for anti-intruder door locks in classrooms. Under its provisions, school districts must maintain Stop the Bleed kits and train staff on their use.
One provision of the bill has captured the most attention. It bans students from carrying their cell phones during school hours.
“It’s really just to encourage students to put their phones down and engage with other students in the classroom,” Shields says. “When you talk to people that have already implemented this, they said the difference is amazing what happens in school.”
Shields says school cell phone bans have proven their worth in other states.
“Lunchrooms have become very quiet places, because students are all on their phones,” Shields says. “And when their phones are in their pockets, in their backpacks, not with them they say the lunchrooms have returned to what we’re used to what lunchrooms were with students engaging with each other. And I just truly believe that for the mental health of everyone, people engaging with people instead of through technology is probably better.”
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ