Representative Cody Henson
NC House District 113
RALEIGH UPDATE, March 2018
Greetings,
Many have asked about my solutions to keeping our schools safe. After many discussions with Sheriff’s and School Personnel in our District, some of the things I am working towards on the School Safety Committee are:
1. Increased funding for School Resource Officers statewide. Currently there are roughly 1200 SRO’s in our state. The state currently awards grants of $38,000 per HIGH SCHOOL for SRO’s. This neglects middle and elementary schools and the funding is inadequate. While looking at funding we need to also look at a reasonable student to SRO ratio so these law enforcement officers and students can form healthy relationships and build trust.
2. This General Assembly must take a serious, in depth look at mental healthcare in NC. It’s something we all talk about back home during campaigns but very little is done unless it is pulling money from mental healthcare. We also need to look at having school counselors, psychiatrists, or school social workers in our schools to give our students the proper help they may need.
3. Fully funding the Speak Up NC app. The Speak Up NC App was established as a pilot mobile phone app for students in 5 counties to anonymously report bullying, cyber bullying, drugs, underage drinking and even came with a suicide hotline that instantly connects student with a mental health professional. The results from that pilot have been outstanding in the number of incidents that have been reported and addressed.
4. School bus safety. We also need to look at ways to make sure our students are safe from the minute they leave home to the time they get back in the afternoon.
School Safety is my number one priority this year and it is an honor to serve on this committee to make our schools safer. I have had many conversations with school and law enforcement officials as well as parents and students over the last several weeks to come up with solutions to make NC schools safer and I look forward to ongoing conversations and committee work to see this process through. As always, it is an honor to serve you in the General Assembly and look forward to hearing more input from you on this important issue.
In addition, I welcome any input or concerns on the matter that constituents may have.
Have a great week,
Cody
Please reply to Cody.Henson@ncleg.net with Questions or Concerns