HAMPTON, Va. — As the new school year approaches, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares spoke with school employees and law enforcement across the state to discuss the best practices to keep students safe.
“A tough couple of years for our kids,” Miyares said.
Miyares said the COVID-19 pandemic, school violence, and other factors have greatly impacted many students throughout the year. Those issues are why school employees and law enforcement agencies across Virginia meet every year for a conversation on school safety.
At this year’s Virginia School Safety Training Forum at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, Miyares highlighted initiatives launched over the past year like "One Pill Can Kill." He also noted new updates to the Office of the Attorney General Virginia Rules Program.
“It had not been updated in over half a decade," he said. "In collaboration with the Department of Criminal Justice Services, we have created a school safety curriculum for elementary schoolers as well. We’ve also added, for our teenagers in the Virginia Rules program, for the first time ever, lesson plans on human trafficking and antisemitism.”
Now he’s looking ahead with the new school year just weeks away. Miyares said his office wants to make sure school administrators, teachers, and other staff are properly trained to spot any red flags.
“And what to look for when you have right now a lot of young people that are dealing with a lot of issues at home that are heartbreaking," Miyares said. "And to be able to do that proper intervention.”
He’s also working on an initiative to get a school resource officer in every Virginia school.
“There was a bill last year that would’ve allowed a certain percentage of ABC licensing fee to be able to go towards localities to build a school resources officers fund,” he said.
Miyares said to expect similar legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session in January.