A bill proposed by lawmakers in Ohio recently would give schools the option to sue the families of students who threaten the school.
Senate Bill 297, introduced in March, would allow police officers and school administrators to sue the family of students that make serious threats, according to dispatch.com.
The proposal is an attempt to curb the costs associated with the emergency responses that are triggered by such threats. Mental health screenings could also be ordered by schools for the children who make the threats.
“We need more options to ensure the safety of our communities and provide a process that will get the necessary help to those that need it,” Hilliard Police Chief Robert Fisher says.
Fisher, whose department uncovered and responded to a student’s school shooting plot last October, helped craft the legislation with Senator Jim Hughes, who introduced the bill.
The bill would be a permissive law, meaning it wouldn’t require districts to respond to threats a certain way but would instead provide them with more disciplinary options. It could also serve as a deterrent to students.
The bill comes as schools in Ohio have faced a spate of bomb threats this school year. Some people have criticized the schools’ responses to those threats.
Read Next: Similar Terror Threats Lead to Different Responses in LA, NY
