On June 3, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed two pieces of legislation into law: Senate Bill 213, which eliminated governmental immunity for public schools in instances of school violence; and Senate Bill 214, which formed a legislative committee to study safety in schools.A school shooting at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, prompted the legislation, said Jane Urschel, deputy executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards.On Dec. 13, 2013, Karl Pierson, a senior at Arapahoe High School, entered the school with a shotgun, machete, homemade bombs and 125 rounds of ammunition, according to an article on the New York Daily News website Dec. 14, 2014. Although she was not the intended target, Pierson shot fellow student Claire Davis before killing himself. Davis died eight days later.ìThese bills, now laws, are known as the Claire Davis Bills,î Urschel said. ìHer parents have pursued this and have said, ëWe just need information; that is all we have ever wanted is more information than we got about what happened.í We have to give them credit for pursuing this and sticking with it.îPeter Hilts, chief education officer for Falcon School District 49, said the legislation is ìresponsive to a deep trauma in a specific community Ö not a knee-jerk reaction.îHilts said he thinks the true purpose of SB 213 is to create higher standards of safety for schools and school districts across the state. ìThis legislation did not increase our commitment because we were already committed at the highest possible level,î he said.According to SB 213, the bill amends the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act to allow claims against public school districts and charter schools in the case of serious bodily injury or death resulting from an incident of school violence. The bill states the maximum amount of monetary damages that could be ìrecoveredî from a school district or charter school is $350,000 to one person in any single occurrence and $900,000 for injuries to multiple persons in any single occurrence.ìI think there are good concepts here, but our concern is always increased liability and thus, increased cost,î Urschel said. Requiring a school district to pay out damages for a violent incident might not make the schools any safer; additionally, schools could be sued for wrongful expulsions, if they act prematurely against a student, she said.Hilts said finding a money source to pay out damages could be challenging. ìWe will not know what kind of judgement would be passed, if any,î he said. ìIf there were monetary damages, would they be paid out of the general fund or an insurance policy? We have no way to know what SB 213 will do until we actually test it in a real case.îUrschel said SB 214 is the Legislatureís way of thinking through new ways to address school safety issues. Traumas at schools vary ó and planning for the next situation is difficult.ìThere will always be a next one, and you can never fully figure out what someone is going to do or what you are prepared for them to try to do,î she said.Some proposed methods to improve school safety include a school communication policy and training for teachers and students on developing best practices for dealing with potential problems, before they arise, Urschel said.Hilts said District 49 will continue to work closely with the state associations to try to understand the implications of the new legislation, but he added that the district is undaunted by being held to the highest possible standard when it comes to safety.
