Michigan House Unites to Pass School Safety Package

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There are things bigger than politics, state legislators declared on the floor of Michigan’s state House, as legislation to implement school safety requirements and mental health assessment standards passed Tuesday evening with bipartisan support.

It’s been just over three years since four students at Oxford High School were murdered by another student who brought a gun to school and opened fire on the school community. Just as the loved ones of Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, will never forget the pain of the Nov. 30, 2021 killings, neither will lawmakers, Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) told members of the state House.

“We must show the people of Michigan, we as lawmakers can come together and produce solutions that address real need in the state,” Meerman, who is a sponsor of the bill package, said. “From where I stand, these bills are long overdue. I’m grateful to vote yes on these bills today.”

Michigan state Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) speaks in support of a school safety package on the House floor on Dec. 10, 2024. | Photo: Anna Liz NicholsMeerman, along with Rep. Nancy DeBoer (R-Holland) took the lead on House Bills 5659 and 5660 which would replace the School Safety Commission with a School Safety and Mental Health Commission housed in the Department of State Police.

The would-be-replaced School Safety Commission was created under Gov. Rick Snyder, after the deadly Parkland High School shooting in Florida in 2018 where a 19-year-old opened fire, killing 17 people at the school. The commission has been charged with evaluating safety measures in Michigan schools and making recommendations for improvements.

Codifying a School Safety and Mental Health Commission is being pursued by lawmakers in recognition of alarm bells school mental health professionals have sounded for the mental health crisis within Michigan schools. The commission would specifically examine and make recommendations to improve school safety measures and mental health support, with members consisting of experts in law enforcement, education, mental health, school threat assessments and community programming with youth, as well as having a current student or recent high school graduate on the commission.

House Bill 5659 and House Bill 5660 received 89-19 votes, passing with widespread bipartisan support and with two members not voting.

Amongst the “no” votes was Republican Rep. Josh Schriver who represents Oxford and voted against every bill in the package Tuesday

Under House Bills 4095 and 4096, all schools in Michigan would be required to adopt uniform terminology for emergency response starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

Michigan State Police would be mandated under the legislation to create language all schools use, so terms like “lockdown” and “shelter in place” mean the same thing across the board and law enforcement can respond accordingly should there be an emergency.

House Bill 4095 received a 94-15 and House Bill 4096 received a 93-16 with one lawmaker not voting.

In the face of the threat of school shootings, it’s important to note that schools are still amongst the safest places for kids to be, Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi) told lawmakers Tuesday. But students don’t always feel safe while they’re trying to learn.

“A few years ago, my daughter asked me one of the worst questions a child could bring a parent, ‘Mama, what do I do if my teacher tells me to run and I can’t find my little brother?’,” Breen told members of the state House. “No parent ever wants to answer that.”

Michigan was once again rattled by another school shooting in 2023, when three students on Michigan State University’s campus were killed by a gunman the evening before Valentine’s Day, Breen lamented.

After the tragedy at MSU, lawmakers passed several gun violence reforms including safe storage laws, background checks on all gun sales and implementing extreme risk protection orders.

And as survivors of school shootings in Michigan and the families of the students the state has lost demand justice and change, Breen said lawmakers have the opportunity to stand alongside them.

Breen’s bill in the package, House Bill 5549, requires all schools to create a behavior threat assessment and management team by October 1, 2026. The team would have to define prohibited or concerning behaviors that are indicative that a member of the school community might hurt themselves or others. The team would also be expected to perform monitoring for such behaviors, creating reporting mechanisms for members of the school community to identify concerning behavior and facilitate the school’s responses to intervene.

The team is required to have a school administrator, a mental health professional and a school resource officer or another member of law enforcement.

While the other bills in the package cleared the politically divided state House with the vast majority of votes, House Bill 5549 cleared with a 57-51 vote, with one lawmaker not voting.

Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Odessa) unsuccessfully proposed an amendment that would have allowed non public schools to opt out of creating behavior threat assessment and management teams and would have specified that members of the clergy could be eligible to fulfill the role of the mental health professional on such teams if non public schools wanted to participate.

The bills will now head over to the state Senate in the final days of the legislative session.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

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