KENTUCKY HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS
Rep. Scott Sharp appointed to task force on School and Campus Safety
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 31, 2023) – Rep. Scott Sharp of Ashland will serve on the Kentucky General Assembly’s School and Campus Safety Task Force, according to an announcement this afternoon from the office of House Speaker David Osborne. Legislative leadership created the panel to focus on issues pertaining to school safety, as well as identifying both areas of improvement and potential solutions.
“I am honored Speaker Osborne has appointed me to serve on this task force and I look forward to the conversations we will be having to help evaluate and improve school safety,” said Sharp. “This task force will be reviewing the implementation of the School Safety Act passed in 2019, which was an extremely important piece of legislation which sought to improve safety at Kentucky’s schools. Ensuring our children are in safe learning environments and that there is a plan in place if something were to ever happen is extremely important, and I am hopeful that our conversations in the coming months will help show the positive changes SB 1 has made.”
The Task Force is the result of conversations during session and a desire to keep school safety at the forefront after the landmark School Safety Act passed in 2019. This legislation developed and implemented a school safety coordinator training program. The program consists of instruction on policies and procedures for conducting emergency response drills using an all-hazards approach, identification of response to threats for school safety, and preparing for school safety security risks. The legislation also established the office of the state school security marshal to enhance school safety and create a school security risk assessment tool.
The task force will also review access to mental health services provided within school districts and review federal funding that could be available to expand services. The School and Campus Safety Task Force will look at what was implemented in SB 1 to ensure it is being carried out in order to keep Kentucky’s children safe while at school. This task force is crucial to ensuring Kentucky’s schools are safe and that they have the resources necessary to serve all students.
“During the 2023 Regular Session, we addressed the juvenile justice crisis, lowered taxes, protected our public pensions, ensured access to reliable and resilient energy sources, and increased access to lifesaving medical services. We also passed legislation aimed at improving workforce shortages in health care, education, and law enforcement and moved to protect parent’s rights and ensure the individuals and institutions our children rely on are acting appropriately,” Osborne said. “These accomplishments are the result of a productive interim. Our objective is to come into each session with an agenda aimed at building a brighter future for the people of our commonwealth. Task forces like this one have proven to be a vital tool, providing us with an opportunity to focus on issues as they develop.”
Task force members will meet throughout the 2023 Interim and submit their findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 4, 2023, for referral to the appropriate committee or committees.
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Representative Sharp serves the state’s 100th House District, which includes part of Boyd and all of Lawrence County. In addition, the task force, Sharp will serve on the interim joint committees on Economic Development and Workforce Investment, Health Services, Judiciary, Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection, and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary.
To follow the task force and other legislative work, visit legislature.ky.gov or follow the House Majority Caucus on Facebook and YouTube @KYHouseGOP.
BY Laura Leigh Goins
Deputy Chief of Staff for Media Relations
House Majority Leadership
502-564-4334
