In a renewed effort to curb acts of mass violence, Senators Rick Scott and Chuck Grassley, alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers, reintroduced the EAGLES Act today. The bill, named in honor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mascot and marking the seventh anniversary of the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida, aims to expand the capabilities of the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to focus more intensively on preventing targeted violence in schools and other public settings.
The EAGLES Act would establish a national program dedicated to the prevention of school violence, broadening NTAC’s research, training, and information dissemination efforts.
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The legislation mandates enhanced collaboration between the Secret Service and local school safety partners, along with coordination among the Departments of Justice and Education, to improve threat assessments and early intervention strategies.
Joining Senators Scott and Grassley in championing the legislation are Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). Companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.).
“In the seven years since the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that took the lives of 17 beautiful souls, I’ve made it my goal to enact change that will honor their memory and keep our schools safe,” said Senator Rick Scott. “Our bipartisan EAGLES Act provides our schools with additional tools to address potential threats and prevent further tragedies. I urge my colleagues to support its passage into law.”
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Senator Grassley underscored the importance of proactive measures, stating, “Effective behavioral threat assessments and early interventions can stop deadly ideas from becoming tragic acts. Our bill would enable the Secret Service to share their unique tools and expertise with school safety partners across the country, building safer communities. While we cannot undo past tragedies, we can work together to honor the memories of those we’ve lost and prevent future violence.”
Senator Angus King added, “Too many communities in Maine and all across the country have been devastated by mass acts of violence. Americans deserve to feel safe in every aspect of their lives. The bipartisan EAGLES Act would expand the capabilities of the National Threat Assessment Center so we can better prevent mass violence and senseless tragedies. This is a proactive, commonsense step forward.”
Since its establishment in 1998, the NTAC has been instrumental in developing evidence-based indicators for targeted violence, including school shootings.
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The Secret Service has conducted hundreds of training sessions for more than 198,000 school administrators, educators, counselors, and law enforcement officers. The EAGLES Act reauthorizes NTAC and increases its funding, allowing it to scale up threat assessment operations and coordinate a national targeted school violence prevention program.
The bill also requires periodic progress reports from the Secret Service to Congress, ensuring transparency and accountability in its efforts to improve school safety nationwide.
The EAGLES Act has garnered backing from a diverse coalition of organizations dedicated to school safety, including Make Our Schools Safe, the School-Based Health Alliance, the National Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Association of School Resource Officers, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, among others. National advocacy groups such as Safe Schools for Alex, Stand with Parkland, Everytown for Gun Safety, Safe and Sound Schools, the National Sheriff’s Association, the Sergeant Benevolent Association, and the American Psychological Association have also expressed their support.
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