Safety experts tell Senate committee locked doors, SROs and funding remain critical to protect Arkansas schools

Senate Education Committee members on the panel heard experts on Wednesday who said Arkansas has made progress on school safety but must keep sharpening prevention, mitigation and response.

Cheryl May, director of the University of Arkansas System Criminal Justice Institute and the Arkansas Center for School Safety, told the committee that the state’s policy work after the 2018 and 2022 School Safety Commissions has been substantial but incomplete. "Since Columbine in 1999, there have been 389 school shootings in The United States," she said, citing national data and noting the particularly high counts in recent years.

May recounted a tour of the Parkland crime scene to explain how seemingly small operational details — an unlocked exterior door, classroom door/window panel vulnerabilities and building layout — shaped the outcome of that attack. She told lawmakers that the attacker gained entry through an unlocked exterior door and that classroom arrangements and unsealed panels made some rooms particularly vulnerable.

Jerry Kiefer, director of DESE’s Safe Schools Unit, drew a direct line to basic facility practices. "Locked doors save lives," he told the committee, describing findings from national reviews and his experience training school staff and law enforcement. Kiefer and May both urged consistent lockdown drills, window coverings for vision panels and the broader cultural change needed for teachers and staff to adopt security measures.

Dr. Mike Hernandez, executive director of the AAEA, framed the state’s investments — including grant-funded equipment — as important but incomplete. He said grant funding has helped districts purchase items recommended by the 2022 commission and that administrators still ask where long-term funding will come from. Hernandez stressed training and practice: "You can't take the approach of being complacent or compliant," he said, calling for ongoing exercises and clearly assigned responsibilities.

Committee members asked practical questions about equipment and implementation. Representative Long asked whether ballistic shields for school resource officers (SROs) improve response; the panel said such equipment was an eligible expense under the LEARNS grant priority and that districts that qualified received approval to purchase shields. On oversight, the panel said working groups created under the LEARNS Act are drafting rules and reporting expectations and that responsibility for reporting will likely reside with the Department of Education once procedures are finalized.

Panelists also raised law-enforcement response time as a concern. May cited recordings and site observations indicating delayed intervention in certain incidents and urged standardized training and accountability for responders.

The committee did not vote on new legislation at the hearing. Presenters recommended continued investment in training, clearer enforcement and reporting mechanisms for threat-assessment programs, and targeted funding to equip and staff schools to meet the LEARNS Act requirements. The committee thanked the witnesses and moved on to the next agenda item.