White House creates a new school safety tool with help from Parkland families

The White House announced a new federal clearinghouse to coordinate for school safety best practices on Monday based on the recommendations of a federal commission created after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School two years ago.

The website, schoolsafety.gov, provides resources that allow administrators, teachers, parents and law enforcement to take an assessment of their school district’s current safety practices to create an action plan. It’s the culmination of a year of work for many Parkland families.

“It was a phenomenal day for us. This is two years of work with this administration to first set up the federal school safety commission and then get to the point where this federal school clearinghouse is actually up live and working,” said Ryan Petty, who attended a White House event with President Donald Trump on Monday. His 14-year-old daughter, Alaina, was among 17 people killed in the 2018 school shooting.

Petty said seven Parkland families met Monday with cabinet secretaries or their deputies about school safety efforts and then for half an hour with the president. The meeting was closed to press.

“We sat and had a discussion,” said Petty. “The president went around to all of the department heads and said ‘I want an update.’”

In the past, educators would have to search for school safety practices and potential grants at four different federal agencies: the departments of education, homeland security, health and human services and justice. The new website puts all the information in one place and it can be updated quickly if school safety standards change.

“Basically, it interviews you and then based on where you’re at can make a set of tailored recommendations to help you get the information you need,” said Petty. “It’s very cool how it’s customized to each individual school district.”

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said “all students deserve a safe learning environment” and the new website allows for communities to develop safety plans that meet their specific needs.

But one Parkland parent was not invited to the unveiling of the site.

Fred Guttenberg, who was removed from last week’s State of the Union for yelling at the president, said he wasn’t asked to the White House gathering. Guttenberg’s 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was among those killed at Stoneman Douglas.

“I guess it is not all of the families as I only learned of this today through a reporter,” Guttenberg tweeted Monday. “My family and I were NOT invited.”

The White House declined to comment on the invitations.

Guttenberg, who became a gun control advocate after his daughter’s death, said in a text message to the Miami Herald that he was not happy with the way the White House released the information about the meeting with the families. In a public release, the White House said “the president greets Parkland families” in the Oval Office, even though Guttenberg and his family were excluded from the invitation.

“I love the families and do not want to interfere,” Guttenberg said in a text message. “My issue is only with the way the [White House] put out its public schedule.”

Guttenberg was ejected from the State of the Union speech last week after he shouted at the president as Trump was talking about the Second Amendment. He had been invited to the speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He later apologized for the outburst. Guttenberg also gained notoriety for trying to shake Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hand during his confirmation hearing in 2018. Guttenberg said he had wanted to introduce himself as Jaime’s father but Kavanaugh turned away. Kavanaugh later said he would have shaken Guttenberg’s hand if he’d known he was a Parkland parent.

Another Parkland parent, Andrew Pollack, said Guttenberg’s issues with the White House invite have threatened to overshadow the work of families on school safety initiatives. Pollack’s 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among the shooting victims.

“All he does is bash the president day in and day out,” said Pollack, who supports Trump. “Then he goes and makes a spectacle of himself at the State of the Union and the Kavanaugh hearings. Who would invite that guy with the way that he acts?”

The White House invitation was issued to a group called Stand With Parkland, which represents most but not all of the victims’ families. The group has worked on a number of safety-related proposals, including a bill by Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott that mandates information-sharing between the FBI and local law enforcement after the FBI mishandled tips about the Parkland shooter. Guttenberg and Pollack are not part of the group.

The website’s release was led by the Federal Commission on School Safety, a body created by the president after the Parkland shooting. Petty said the website makes clear to users where there’s a consensus on the best school safety practices.

But the site also lets users know when there’s not a consensus, such as how to conduct active shooter drills. so educators can create a plan that meets their needs. Schoolsafety.gov also offers educational and law enforcement professionals a place to share ideas and best practices regarding school safety with each other.

The second anniversary of the Parkland shooting is on Friday.

“In my view, this president has done more for school safety since Parkland than any previous administration,” Petty said.