ATLANTA — Richard Aspinwall supports new laws to improve safety in Georgia schools to honor his son’s memory.
Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, a math teacher and football coach, was one of four people killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in September while trying to protect his kids.
“My son was a stand-up man,” Aspinwall said Monday. “I taught him to stand up for the kids.”
Aspinall and his wife Rita visited the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta on Monday to back ideas from the state House speaker. One of these ideas is to set up a statewide database on students’ disciplinary, mental health, and law enforcement records to identify students who might be at risk of committing violence.
People want to share information because they think the Barrow County school system missed important warning signs from the 14-year-old suspected of the killing.
House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican from Newington, said on Monday that not sharing information about the student accused of the terrible act contributed to what happened that day.
Privacy advocates warn that collecting this data could invade people’s privacy. They also highlight that federal law enforcement agencies say it’s impossible to predict which kids might become violent using this information.
Burns suggested a plan that would ask each school to form a team made up of school leaders, mental health experts, and police. This team would look into reports of potential violence. Burns wants schools to report threats using an online system and to have each school district hire at least one mental health coordinator to help kids access counseling.
The speaker said he backs the $50 million that Governor Brian Kemp wants to provide to schools this spring for security improvements. However, he believes more money should be spent to set up a database and cover the costs of mental health directors. Burns announced that the House will reveal its budget plan next week.
Kemp has suggested a slight increase in funding to help schools hire more school psychologists, but he did not provide additional money for counselors, social workers, and mental health services. The $50 million is extra on top of the $109 million already set aside for schools in the present state budget.
Two suggested Senate bills want to encourage more sharing of information. Senate Bill 61, put forward by Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, would require schools to send student records within 10 days when a student moves to a new school. It would also require juvenile justice and child welfare agencies to inform schools if a student is being monitored electronically or is under house confinement. Senate Bill 54, introduced by Democratic Sen. Emanuel Jones from Decatur, aims to set up a database for school risks and provide mental health services in schools for any student listed in that database.
According to Burns’ plan, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency will manage the information. That body is already offering optional training on threat assessment to school districts.
Florida’s effort to set up a database was originally blocked by federal privacy laws that prevent sharing health and education records with the public. Chris Erwin, the Chairman of the House Education Committee and a Republican from Homer, said that after months of research, it seems Georgia can share the information “with the right people.”
Georgia lawmakers are suggesting ways to address the increase in threats and hoaxes that came after the Apalachee killing. The House Republican plan says that if a student makes a threat, they will be removed from school until the police and school officials decide it is safe for them to come back. Dolezal’s bill suggests that threatening a school with violence should be a serious crime and that teens ages 13 to 16 should be tried in adult court for this offense. The cases could move to youth court if the district attorneys and judges both agree.
Republican state senators support a plan that requires all school systems to give workers panic alarm systems they can wear. Apalachee teachers used panic buttons that they wear to quickly alert others about the killing.
Burns is in favor of tax breaks for people who buy gun safes or locks. However, Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing for a rule that would make it necessary for adults to secure their guns when children are around. Officials say Colin Gray, the father of accused shooter Colt Gray, bought his son an assault-style gun and made it easy for him to get to it, even though he knew or should have known that his son could be a danger to other people.
“We want to stop people from making these irresponsible choices in the first place,” said state Rep. Michelle Au, a Democrat from Johns Creek.
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