Sept. 2024 | Vol. 10 Iss. 9
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GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT WORKS ON IMPLEMENTING THE SCHOOL SECURITY ACT By Peri Kinder | peri.k@thecityjournals.com
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hen the Utah State Legislature passed HB61 during the 2023 legislative session, the bill was intended to protect against school threats. The School Security Act went into effect in May 2023 and requires every school in Utah to have an armed guard on-site during school hours. While there’s no deadline to have armed guards in place at this time, every district must submit a school safety needs assessment by the end of this year that includes guideline policies, site security plans and personnel information. Matt Pennington was appointed Director of State Security in January 2024 in response to HB61. Pennington has a background in law enforcement, serving in Weber County and South Jordan before accepting his current position. “Because [schools are] on a clock, we’ve said that if they used something last year that was accepted by the School Safety Center, we would accept that again this year,” he said. “Then the plan would be, moving forward, we will create our own assessment for Utah and by this time next year we will have that tool out.” Granite School District is one of the biggest districts in the state. With more than 61,000 students, 5,000 educators and support staff, and nearly 90 schools, the District is working with the Utah State Board of Education and the Security Task Force to finalize its compliance plan. “There have been multiple discussions with the school board, with our chief of police and emergency management department, to try and figure out what will be best for Granite and our schools,” Continued page 4 New legislation requires armed guards at every school in Utah. Granite School District is creating its compliance plan with the School Security Act. (Stock photo)
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