Solutions should focus on preventing another school shooting, not intervening

with more police and guns if one does happen. School shootings are not
inevitable.​ They are the product of school environments that are becoming less and
less about supporting students. It’s easy to place sole blame on the shooter. It’s far
harder - and less popular - to lay blame at the feet of a suffering school system.

We want solutions focused on better supporting our students and creating a community
that centers our mental health needs. Bringing more guns and more security into our
schools won’t work.

After the Columbine massacre almost two decades ago, we saw a major push for zero
tolerance in schools, militarization of our campuses and criminalization of our students.
Suspensions and expulsions went up exponentially while real solutions focused on
supporting students mental health needs fell by the wayside. These actions failed to
keep guns out of school and failed to keep students of all races and economic
backgrounds safe.

We must arm our schools with the resources for school counselors, nurses, and
emotional well being programs not with guns and metal detectors.

What we know about gun violence in our schools:

Gun violence cuts deeply across all our communities. Limiting access to guns is
the first and most direct step we can take to protect all young people.
● On average seven children die EVERY DAY from gun violence in this country.
● The rate of gun-related deaths was six times higher for children of color in 2016.
● More than half of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. are children of color.
● The majority of gun deaths in the US are suicides and LGBTQ community is
over-represented among suicide victims.

Genuine school safety begins with creating an environment where all students --
regardless of race, gender, sexuality, religion or citizenship feel welcomed, safe
and supported.
● Three out of the five largest school districts in the U.S. have more security
officers than counselors.
● Students in schools with more counseling services have greater feelings of
belonging and safety.

“Hardening” our schools since Columbine has failed to keep guns out of schools
or keep students safe. Instead tougher security measures, such as zero tolerance
policies or putting police in schools further discriminate against and criminalize
students of color.
● The presence of school security guards or assigned police officers at schools
have jumped dramatically since the Columbine massacre. Yet there have been
200 school shootings since then. These measures have not stopped a single
schools shooting but have instead led to arrests of young people, pushing many
young people directly out of the education system.

Our Demands:
1. Teachers should not be armed. Bringing more weapons into our schools will not
solve the issue of gun violence. We demand that Broward County Public Schools
take a stance against the legislature and refuse to comply with legislation that will
put more guns and police into our schools.
2. We demand the money that is being proposed to arm teachers and bring more
police into our schools be shifted to instead, invest in mental health and
counseling support that will PREVENT another school shooting from happening
in the first place.
3. We demand that more money be put into equipping our schools with school
counselors and social workers to meet the needs of each school.
4. We demand the creation of active shooter drills and practices for each school in
Broward County.
5. We demand that the Florida legislature stop putting NRA money above the lives
of students and pass stronger background checks and ban all assault weapons.