Rep. Savannah Maddox (R-Dry Ridge) will serve on the Kentucky General Assembly’s School and Campus Safety Task Force, according to an announcement from the office of House Speaker David Osborne.
The task force will meet during the interim legislative session, which is held during the summer and outside of a regular legislative session. During the interim, legislators discuss policy, but do not vote on bills.
Legislative leadership created the panel to focus on issues pertaining to school safety, and to identify areas of improvement and potential solutions.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the School and Campus Safety Task Force,” Maddox said. “Keeping Kentucky’s students safe in the classroom is not only our top priority, it is our responsibility as lawmakers to ensure that the policies we have enacted are working. In 2019, the General Assembly passed the School Safety and Resiliency Act, which was designed to create a secure learning environment for students across the Commonwealth.”
The Task Force is the result of legislative discussions that took place during the 2023 General Assembly Session, and a desire to keep school safety at the forefront after passing the landmark School Safety and Resiliency Act. This legislation developed and implemented a School Safety Coordinator Training Program, which 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 to enhance school safety and create a school security risk assessment tool.
Task force members will meet throughout the 2023 Interim and submit their findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by Dec. 4, 2023, for referral to the appropriate committee or committees.
Maddox serves Kentucky’s 61st House District, which includes portions of Boone and Kenton County, as well as Gallatin and Grant County. In addition to the task force, Maddox will serve on the Interim Joint Committees on Judiciary, State Government, Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection, and Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology.
To follow the task force and other legislative work, visit legislature.ky.gov.