Officials hear 9 recommendations from high school students to improve safety at Kentucky schools

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky education officials heard from several high school students Tuesday about what they think should be done to improve safety at Kentucky schools.

The members of the Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner's Student Advisory Council presented nine safety recommendations. Those nine recommendations were released in a report called, "A Focus on School Safety" and were designed to improve overall safety at schools.

The nine recommendations were divided into three categories.

Before an incident:

Promoting the STOP tip line by increasing awareness among schools.
Improving the intervention rate by responding to reports of at-risk behavior.
Supporting gun control legislation, specifically advocating legislation that requires a mental health evaluation before a firearm can be purchased.

During an incident:

Conduct regular active shooter drills.
Improve training for first responders.
Establish a clear notification system.

After an incident:

Providing mental health support after an incident takes place.
Host town hall style meetings in the aftermath of an incident.
In the aftermath of an incident, repair and rebuild the school building.

The students, alongside Kentucky Education Commissioner Dr. Jason Glass, presented the comprehensive recommendations to Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville. the students asked Rep. Tipton to urge lawmakers to consider the ideas.

"I'm going to take the recommendations very seriously," Tipton said. "I'm going to share these recommendations with fellow members of the education committee and the house general assembly."

The presentation comes just one day after the five-year mark since the deadly Marshall County school shooting in western Kentucky. It's also just one day removed from am incident where officials found a gun at Eastern High School in Louisville.

Students said it was an appropriate time to consider what else the state can do to protect students and schools.

"It's definitely a heavy burden to bear," said Spandana Pavuluri, a student at DuPont Manual High School in Louisville.

Pavuluri serves on the student advisory council and helped craft the recommendations. She said the recent incidents have students on high alert.

"Makes you feel like, maybe when I walk into these walls of my school, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to protect me from everything or everyone," she said.

Pavuluri, and other students, believe additional resources and training could be the difference.

"All of our recommendations are really rooted in our own personal experiences and what it means to be a student having to deal with the whole fear aspect of this," Pavuluri mentioned.