A bill set to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday would facilitate schools hire security guards, but debate on the measure stalled as lawmakers argued for more than an hour about the existence of systemic racism.
Bill 4851was intended to improve the safety of children in schools. It would allow public and private schools to employ retired police officers as armed security guards.
The dispute came to Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-Randolph, proposed a bill the change Eliminate training for school security staff on “systemic and individual” racism. The legislation would still require training standards on racism, cultural diversity and implicit bias.
Coop-Gonzalez declined to answer questions from Democrats about his amendment, prompting Ohio Democrat Shawn Fluharty to sharply criticize lawmakers for failing to defend their proposal.
“I thought we were going to have a friendly debate, but that would require people to show up to work and do their jobs,” Fluharty said.
Another sponsor of the amendment, Del. Marty Gearhart (R-Mercer), also declined to answer questions.
The amendment was passed by 20 members, including some Republicans. Choose against it.
Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, voted no.
“We must not be afraid to talk about these issues and to educate ourselves about them. Racism is real,” he said.
The bill also set the training requirements, These, as the legislature noted, are frequently used by state law enforcement.
“Obviously we know more here than law enforcement,” Fluharty said before the vote. “We’re changing it to lower the standards because we don’t like the word ‘racism.'”
Later, Republican Rep. Tom Fast of Fayette stood up to explain the amendment: “It would establish that the entire law enforcement and education system is racist or biased.”
In response, Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, pointed to Status data This shows that black students, as well as students from foster care and indigent families, are disproportionately punished in public schools.
“We can’t choose the words we want to use because they make us uncomfortable,” she said. “We have a systemic problem.”
At the end of the debate, Coop-Gonzalez told MPs that, as the child of a Guatemalan immigrant, he understood what racism was, but did not believe it was a “racist system”.
Following the debate, the House unanimously decided logged out on the bill. It will now be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
