Officials in Mississippi are making sure that schools are prepared for the potential threat of school shootings. MPB's Jasmine Ellis reports.
Next school year, students and teachers across Mississippi will participate in active shooter drills within the first 60 days of each new school semester. Republican State Representative Mark Baker says the new law will protect students, teachers, and staff from active shooter situations.
"It helps teachers, and staff, and students as well understand what to do and how to react," said Baker. "Sometimes what you need to do is counterintuitive to what you want to do. And so the training helps you learn the necessary elements that are required."
Ritchie Williams is assistant superintendent at Alcorn School District in Corinth. He says students already practice lock down situations in case a school shooting ever occurs.
"You're never going to get to a point where you're comfortable," said Williams. "You're never going to get to a point where your schools are absolutely 100 percent foolproof to where nothing from the outside can come in. But you do the best you can. I feel confident that we're doing the things we need to do to keep these kids safe."
Mary Helen Abel is with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She says she thinks lawmakers must be more concerned with keeping kids safe.
"It motivates me to change the gun culture in America that says guns belong everywhere all the time," said Abel. "Guns don't belong everywhere all the time. There are places where guns should never be and schools are one of those places."
Assistant Superintendent Williams says students concerned about danger should tell a teacher.
