June 24, 2022
The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) applauds the passage today of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, at the same time we continue to mourn the recent tragedies in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX that were carried out with guns.
This legislation is a significant step forward that will save lives and increase funding and access for mental health services in our communities and schools. We commend the members of Congress who developed this bipartisan legislation and look forward to its swift signing into law by President Biden.
“Our focus at IEL is ensuring that everyone has the access and agency to pursue their dreams, supported by strong education and workforce systems,” states IEL President Eddie Koen. “But people cannot pursue their dreams if they or their children, sisters, brothers, friends, uncles, aunts, and others are being gunned down in their schools, communities, grocery stores, places of worship, and elsewhere. This legislation, through its measures on stricter gun control, will help to curb gun violence, increase the safety of ourselves and loved ones, and save lives.”
“We also applaud Congress for not only creating stricter gun control measures, but for also investing in ways to increase access and support for mental health services for both children and adults,” states IEL Director of Policy Mary Kingston Roche. “These investments include comprehensive community mental health services; guidance and expansion of telehealth for behavioral health services to ensure geography and transportation do not limit people’s access; addressing the shortages of school psychologists, counselors, and social workers in our schools; improving students’ conditions for learning and increasing access to out of school time programs, among other measures. All these investments are smart, needed, and in line with IEL’s Policy by the People agenda co-created with leaders across the country.”
At the same time, we urge policymakers not to conflate mental illness with gun violence. Doing so is not only inaccurate, but it also further stigmatizes individuals with mental illness when we as a nation should treat this as we do any other health care need that we have.
Finally, we caution state and local officials implementing this legislation to not use this funding to “harden” schools in ways that have been proven to disproportionately penalize students of color. (The U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection reports that during the 2015-2016 school year, Black students comprised 15% of total enrollment yet 31% of students who were referred to law enforcement or arrested).
Instead, we urge everyone in your communities to engage with your local and state officials to inform how this legislation is implemented in a way that honors community voice, wisdom, and will, and IEL stands ready to support you.