Active-shooter-drill bill in California would require advance notice, ban fake gunfire
SACRAMENTO, California — Mock gunfire would be banned at active-shooter drills in California public schools, under legislation proposed Tuesday that would also require schools to notify students, teachers and parents in advance when a drill was planned.
The measure was introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward, who says some districts have gone too far in their efforts to prepare students for potential tragedies, such as by recreating shooting scenes too realistically.
Schools across the state have stepped up active-shooter drills in recent years in response to the rise of mass shootings, but there is little guidance on how to conduct the drills.
Without formal guidelines, some exercises have been conducted in which trainers acted as school shooters, students played dead and fake guns were used to shoot blanks, Ward said in introducing the bill.
Last month, an elementary school principal outside Los Angeles was placed on leave after pretending to shoot students and announcing that they were “dead” during a drill, KTLA reported. In some cases, schools also fail to inform teachers, parents and students about the shooting drills, leading to confusion and panic.
Ward said such simulations “can do more harm than good.”
“When it comes to fire drills, we don’t fill the halls with smoke and turn up the thermostat,” he said. “We shouldn’t do the same with our kids when it comes to active-shooter drills.”
As school safety has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry in recent years, some groups are urging lawmakers to abolish target practice. A 2021 study by Everytown for Gun Safety and the Georgia Institute of Technology linked active-shooter drills to an increase in depression, stress and other mental health issues among college students.
The legislation would require the Department of Education to issue standardized guidelines on active-shooter drills. It would also ban the use of mock gunfire, require schools to notify parents before and after a shooting drill and make a schoolwide announcement before a drill begins.
Schools should also design age-appropriate exercises and then provide mental health resources.
“Currently there are no standardized processes for school shooting drills, which to me is mind-boggling,” said Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gipson, who is sponsoring the bill. “This is a common sense piece of legislation.”
Ireana Marie Williams, a member of Students Demand Actions at California State University, Sacramento, said target drills and lockdowns are traumatizing for students. Williams was locked out of her classroom when her high school went into lockdown a few years ago. She didn’t know if it was a drill or not.
“There are no words, no way I can describe the sheer horror of the feeling of being a sitting duck, waiting for a gunman to turn the corner and start shooting,” Williams said Tuesday. “Every lockdown, every exercise, every second spent scanning for exits is a form of gun violence.”