Van Hollen Praises Enactment of School Safety Bill

MADISON - Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen issued the following statement upon enactment of Senate Bill 154, relating school safety:

I applaud the Governor for signing SB 154 into law.   

Information-sharing is a key public safety tool, but prior Wisconsin law unnecessarily restricted information-sharing when it came to safety in our state's schools.  This new law removes existing barriers to sharing safety-related information, encourages schools to appropriately share information, and requires the criminal justice system share certain information with schools.   

I believe this law will enhance school safety and improve the education and well-being of our kids and communities. 

Van Hollen's testimony to the Legislature is available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/TestimonyJBVHAB154.pdf

In September 2008, Van Hollen testified before the Special Committee on School Safety and offered versions of the proposals which are contained in the bill that relate to information sharing.  Van Hollen's testimony to the Special Committee on School Safety proposing changes to state law relating to sharing information is available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/MakingSchoolsSafer.pdf

In 2007, Van Hollen participated in a nationwide task force of State Attorneys General formed to study and report on campus and school safety issues.  The Task Force's report is available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/NAAGSchoolSafetyReport.pdf

The Department of Justice's Safe Schools Legal Resource Manual is available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/docs/SafeSchoolManual.pdf