Schools are at the heart of our communities and as a former public school teacher I know they serve an important role in educating and keeping kids safe. ALL homes should be provided with safe storage so that every kid in our state can be safe and just be kids.

This is a useless bill and is overreach of government into the personal lives of citizens. Where's the bill on ENSURING that School Divisions actually follow and adhere to Federal and State Regulations for students with disabilities AND prescribing fines individually and in 'acting as' roles for non-compliance with Laws and Regulations. Virginia, get YOUR Educational Federal and State Laws, Rules and Regulations house in order before imposing invasive 'policies' upon your constituents.

This bill interferes into the personal lives of everyone. This has no business in Education. How about you REAFFIRM the REQUIREMENT that each School Board is REQUIRED under IDEA to Provide Education (FAPE) to ALL students in it's jurisdiction, enrolled or not (so they don't keep illegally kicking out Special Education kids, filing false and malicious truancy charges and keeping kids and families in never-ending legal battles over what are the FEDERAL and CIVIL Rights of Children. The Schools have NO BUSINESS interfering in Private Family Matters. How about we make it illegal for teachers and staff to NOT have sexual relations with or abuse children in schools (not ALL do, by FAR, but the instances of this are growing exponentially), so how about we make that illegal....oh, wait!

RE HB 1678: while I fully support the spirit of this bill, it should not be the public school system's responsibility to inform parents of laws that do not pertain directly to education. And while this bill seems an innocuous and small task, one of the reasons we have a nationwide teacher (and administrator) shortage is because of regulations like this that utilize the public school system as the "catch all" social service hub. The administrator that takes care of this is now unable to spend their time doing other, more directly relevant tasks.

I support HB1678 as it could promote the safety of children, teachers, and other staff in schools.

I support HB1678 as it as sometimes all it takes is a nudge from a trusted external party like a school to remind people that there are dangerous items at home that need to be safely stored! The more visibility we can get around safe storage, the fewer gun deaths and poisonings we will have. It is a simple action that can pay massive dividends.

I am writing to express my strong support for HB1678: Lethal Means Awareness, proposed by Delegate Cohen. This bill would require school boards to notify parents about the importance of safely storing firearms and prescription medications. As a Virginian who cares deeply about the safety and well-being of children in our communities, I believe this legislation is a critical step toward protecting our most vulnerable population. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., with gun-related injuries surpassing car accidents, cancer, and other causes. Tragically, many of these deaths are preventable through secure firearm storage. Unsecured guns in homes put children at risk of accidental shootings, suicide, and school violence. Similarly, poisonings and overdoses are the third leading cause of death among children. With the growing opioid crisis and the prevalence of medications in households, it is more important than ever to encourage safe storage practices. This bill is not about infringing on anyone’s rights but about providing families with life-saving information. Schools are trusted community institutions, and sending these reminders through school communications could save lives. We owe it to our children to take every possible step to protect them. Passing HB1678 is a simple, commonsense measure that will raise awareness and help prevent tragedies. Thank you for considering my comment in support of this important bill. Sincerely, Clarissa Dulaney Smith Louisa, Virginia

I support HB1678 as it could save children’s lives.

Dear House of Delegates, I am disheartened by the lack of high expectations and standards for Virginia’s schools. Many politicians and people believe throwing money at the issue will fix it. Nope Where are the parents, guardians of the students who are being disruptive and causing harm? It was Never about the salary! It was always about the poor policies, low standards and expectations for the students. Stop making excuses for some and not the others. All schools must follow The Student Code of Conduct. Fact: there are teachers and administrators who are too lazy to follow the policies and be consistent. I refuse to let this go because I know we must be fair. Schools that allow bad behavior instead of discipline and accountability are shameful. Look at our society now. Please stop covering up bad behaviors with low standards, excuses, and now metal detectors. Stop lowering standards in one place and raising standards in another. Encourage hard work and dedication without government dependency. Please stop dividing us into groups based on race, religion, gender, etc. Where is the home?

As a human, mother, grandmother and citizen of Virginia, I support HB1678 as it will do more than “thoughts and prayers” to keep our children, teachers and school staff safe.

We SUPPORT this bill, as guns are the NUMBER ONE cause of death of children, and poisonings & overdoses are the NUMBER THREE cause of death in children.

I support HB1678 as only 30% of gun-owning households with children store all firearms locked and unloaded (Journal of Urban Health)

Comments Document

Good Morning I strongly urge you to please look at this 6th grade health lesson put into all 8 middle schools in Chesterfield County- my 11 year old received this road map on opioids including names with images on how to use them, then an assignment in that module to go home, find what was in our home then search for images of that drug on the internet and post the pill image with the link where it could be found when looking at things like parental responsibility for narcotic storage. If my 11 year old had overdosed and I had never known about this lesson or homework assignment I would be blamed and have to live with that horror my entire life. When in reality the public school system had introduced the literal roadmap and scavenger hunt to how to use, what to use and then to go seek and find the medications that could have led to her death. Thank you for your time Have a blessed morning Anne Taydus

I strongly support HB1678, requiring schools to send home parental notifications about the safe storage of prescription drugs and firearms. As a gun owner, a survivor of gun suicide loss in high school, and someone who has faced suicidal ideation, I know the devastating consequences when lethal means are accessible during moments of vulnerability. Losing someone I cared about to suicide with an unsecured firearm left a lasting impact, and it’s a tragedy I wouldn’t wish on anyone. This legislation is a simple yet powerful step to prevent such tragedies. By ensuring parents have clear guidance on the importance of securely storing firearms and prescription medications, we can protect lives and promote a culture of responsibility that obviously still respects the Second Amendment. I urge you to pass this bill and prioritize the safety of Virginia’s children and families.

I wanted to write in with my support of HB1678. This bill would require school boards to notify parents of the importance of safe storage of firearms and prescription medication. As a mother and as a pediatrician, I am all too aware of the risks of unsecured items around children, including firearms and medications. Working in the inpatient hospital setting, I have seen many medication ingestions in young children and have had to provide parents with education about safe storage of medications in their home. Such ingestions (and similarly, access to dangerous firearms) could be prevented with parental education. Please consider supporting this important bill.

As a former public school teacher and mom of two young daughters, I know the impact schools have in keeping communities safer. When parents and guardians are provided information about safe storage for firearms and prescriptions, it ensures that our children are going home to safe places where they can play and be kids without the possibility of harm. Several school systems in our state already provide this information-let's make sure every community has the knowledge and reminders for safe storage.

I am a resident of Virginia in 23238. As part of Virginia Moms for Change, a gun violence prevention advocacy group, I am writing with my support of SB1048 as it is so incredibly important for parents to safely store their firearms and prescriptions! Too many tragedies have happened because adults are just not thinking children will find or be curious about these things - they will! As published in the New England Journal of Medicine, guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisoning & overdoses are the #3 cause of death in children. Both of these horrific statistics are so preventable! Let's take steps to get in front of this problem. Sincerely, Andrea Redmond

I strongly support for the native language assessments bill, but it should be modified for only math and science exams in Spanish. Thankfully, the new accountability system will issue school ratings consistent with 22+ year old federal civil rights law, which includes English learners 3 semesters after entering a school in the United States. Such inclusion has received the strong public endorsement of the 2 major national English learner civil rights organizations, Migration Policy Institute and UnidosUS, as well as the major national educational civil rights group The Education Trust (https://townhall.virginia.gov/l/viewcomments.cfm?commentid=226985). The new accountability system will result in the reallocation of billions of public dollars as we’ll finally have a system to accurately identify schools needing support. Notably, Virginia's accountability revamp has the support of the Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama and a Virginia public school parent for 6 years then. Native language assessments are fiscally conservative. Beginning English Learners often are failing SOLs because of lack of English knowledge, not content knowledge. If a school system is educating English Learners properly, funds should not be mistakenly directed to those schools at the cost of helping actual struggling kids at other schools. My Senator Barbara Favola has proposed a budget amendment for $300K to fund such exam translations for Math and Science in Spanish only, which I strongly support. As of 2020, the majority of states funded such assessments, including red states likes Texas, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska. I would refer you to Migration Policy Institute's 2020 white paper on native language assessments (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/MPI-native-lang-assessments_FINAL.pdf).

I support HB1678 because guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisonings and overdoses are the #3 cause of death of children. These are preventable deaths and it is our duty to keep children safe. Requiring school boards to notify parents of the importance of safe storage of firearms and prescription medication is a simple step that could save children's lives.

I'm a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and we support this bill. Guns are the number one killer of children and teens in Virginia. Secure storage laws are a crucial part of the solution. One study found that households that locked both firearms and ammunition were associated with a 78 percent lower risk of self-inflicted firearm injuries and an 85 percent lower risk of unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens, compared to those that locked neither.

I support HB1678 as the number of guns in homes in my community that are left unlocked with children around is astounding. Educating families that locking guns will prevent deaths is paramount in keeping our children safe in school.

I support HB1678 as it is a commonsense way to keep our children and teens safe. In the US, guns are the #1 cause of death and poisoning and overdoses are the #3 cause of death (New England Journal of Medicine, 2022). Different families have different levels of awareness of household risks, so reminding all parents to work together to make home environments safer helps everyone.

I SUPPORT this bill, as guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisonings & overdoses are the #3 cause of death in children. This is vital information that could help keep our children safe at little cost or effort from the districts.

I support HB1678 as it would require school boards to notify parents of the importance of safe storage of firearms and prescription medication. This can help to prevent unfortunate accidents and help to keep children safe. Guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisonings & overdoses are the #3 cause of death in children.

I support this bill, as guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisonings & overdoses are the #3 cause of death in children. This bill could help prevent serious accidents and protect children.

I support HB1678 as guns are the #1 cause of death of children, and poisonings & overdoses are the #3 cause of death in children. Anything we can do to keep our children safe should be a top priority.

I support HB1678 as it gives parents information about the importance of keeping dangerous substances and firearms out of reach of children. This simple step can help prevent unfortunate accidents that are devastating to families and communities in our Commonwealth.