Our approach to lockdown drills is traumatizing kids, not keeping them safe.

My legislation would ensure our approach to gun safety in schools actually puts safety first.

We need to do more to address the root causes of gun violence by getting weapons off our streets and providing mental health resources to every New Yorker that needs them.

We also need to do right by our kids by ensuring they, their teachers and school administrators are truly prepared in case a school shooting happens. Right now, we’re not doing that.

Lockdown trills that teach students to prepare for an active shooter are a critical part of the school safety. But our current approach to these drills is traumatizing our kids, not making them safer.

A study by Everytown for Gun Safety found that excessive and aggressive lockdown drills contributed to a 42% increase in anxiety and a 39% increase in depression amongst students.

One teacher told researchers that, after drills, “We were in bathrooms crying, shaking, not sleeping for months. The consensus from my friends and peers is that we are not okay.” A parent said her kindergarten-aged daughter “immediately started having nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to sleep with us, constantly asking if the doors are locked. It definitely took away her innocence.”

As the father of two young kids, I know the safety of our children is everything. But our current approach to drills is traumatizing kids, not keeping them safe.

Right now, New York State law mandates that schools conduct four lockdown drills a year—that’s more than 45 other states.

• My proposal would right-size the lockdown drill mandate, reducing it from four per year to two, which would align New York with other states. Schools would have the complete freedom to conduct more drills if they want to.

• Just as importantly, my bill creates a trauma-informed approach that includes accommodations for students with PTSD, anxiety, and disabilities, as well as an age-appropriate explanation of the drills for students, comprehensive and consistent training for teachers, and advance notice to both parents and teachers that the drills will be occurring.

My bill draws from expert recommendations that nearly everyone, even strong proponents of lockdown drills, can agree on. This approach is supported by leading health experts and gun safety advocates, including Moms Demand Action, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), Everytown for Gun Safety, Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, NAMI-NYS, Mental Health Association in New York State, the New York Association of School Psychologists, the New York State School Workers Association, Advocates for Children of New York, March for Our Lives youth group, the NYS American Academy of Pediatrics and the New York State School Counselor Association.

The bill, which incorporates nationally-recommended best practices and builds upon recently-approved regulations by the New York State Education Department, reflects a national trend to improve lockdown drills. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Illinois have taken similar steps. 

As a father, a New Yorker, and a lawmaker, I’m deeply committed to ensuring our children’s schools are truly safe. Reforming our approach to lockdown drills is part of a holistic strategy to make that happen.