YORK COUNTY, S.C. -- Inside Tuesday’s Rock Hill Schools Safety Summit, school officials and law enforcement discussed the game plan: how to keep students safe.
Superintendent Kelly Pew said the district has added tip lines, student resources officers and threat assessment teams to help identify a problem before any violence occurs
Students also participate in lockdowns and evacuations on a regular basis. Pew told parents she opposes the idea of arming teachers.
“Our educators, that is not what they’re trained to do,” she explained.
In Lancaster County, the sheriff’s office just got funding to hire several school resource officers (SRO).
The department announced on Facebook the county plans to have an SRO in every middle and high school next year.
In North Carolina Tuesday, Governor Roy Cooper answering school safety questions.
“I think we have to be realistic about what is possible and what we can do to keep our kids safe,” he said.
Cooper told reporters he plans to increase the age a person can purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. He wants to increase background checks and change the permitting process for assault weapons.
"By making the sale of these assault weapons the same permitting process as for handguns now," Cooper said.
Deploying the national guard to schools is another idea being floated by some North Carolina school board members. In South Carolina, lawmakers are toying with the idea of taxing gun sales to put police in every school.
The Rock Hill School district was happy to announce the new tip line on their school app. It is a place where students, teachers, parents, anyone can report suspicious behavior. The number 803-373-1707.