KANSAS CITY – Oklahoma school safety legislation has been unanimously approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and is now headed to the Senate floor.
Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskokgee, introduced Senate Bill 100 as the result of suggestions made by the school safety working group, whose chair Pemberton was appointed to by Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, last autumn.
By July 1, 2026, S.B. 100 would mandate that every school district submits a risk and vulnerability assessment by the Oklahoma School Security Institute (OSSI). Personnel from OSSI collaborate with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (ODEMHS, of which OSSI is a component) (OSDE).
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Districts that have already had assessments done within the last two years are exempt. Every five years, assessments would be performed again. According to Pemberton, OSSI now only has six personnel and needs ten more to complete the exams over the course of the following three years. The organization predicted that the assessments would cost about $1.4 million annually.
After the Connecticut Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in 2013, the Oklahoma Commission on School Security made recommendations that led to the development of the OSSI.