Attorney General Moody Urges Congress to Support EAGLES Act
Release Date
Apr 26, 2021
Contact
Kylie Mason
Phone
850-245-0150
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody, with a bipartisan group of 40 attorneys general, is urging Congress to pass the EAGLES Act, a national program to prevent targeted school violence. The legislation is named for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Eagles and would expand the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, with a greater focus on school-violence prevention.
The EAGLES Act’s safe-school initiative contains research and training components, allows dissemination of evidence-based practices, and authorizes NTAC to work with state and local officials to develop research and training.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This Congressional legislation, named in honor of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attack, will help strengthen our schools through coordinated federal, state and local resources. I am proud to join my fellow attorneys general in support of this important legislation to increase security and help prevent acts of violence at schools in Florida and across our nation.”
In a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the attorneys general write: “Preventing targeted violence demands a multi-faceted approach toward a solution and calls for coordination among law enforcement officials, lawmakers, educators, parents and students, and community members. Moreover, reducing targeted violence in our schools requires partnership between state and federal agencies – precisely the type of collaboration contemplated by the EAGLES Act.”
Created in 1998, NTAC provides information on threat assessment to the Secret Service and those who work in criminal justice and public safety. NTAC started studying targeted violence in schools after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 that led to the establishment of school-threat assessment programs.
In addition to Attorney General Moody, the attorneys general of the following states signed on to the letter to congressional leaders: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
To read the letter, click here.
The EAGLES Act’s safe-school initiative contains research and training components, allows dissemination of evidence-based practices, and authorizes NTAC to work with state and local officials to develop research and training.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This Congressional legislation, named in honor of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attack, will help strengthen our schools through coordinated federal, state and local resources. I am proud to join my fellow attorneys general in support of this important legislation to increase security and help prevent acts of violence at schools in Florida and across our nation.”
In a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the attorneys general write: “Preventing targeted violence demands a multi-faceted approach toward a solution and calls for coordination among law enforcement officials, lawmakers, educators, parents and students, and community members. Moreover, reducing targeted violence in our schools requires partnership between state and federal agencies – precisely the type of collaboration contemplated by the EAGLES Act.”
Created in 1998, NTAC provides information on threat assessment to the Secret Service and those who work in criminal justice and public safety. NTAC started studying targeted violence in schools after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 that led to the establishment of school-threat assessment programs.
In addition to Attorney General Moody, the attorneys general of the following states signed on to the letter to congressional leaders: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
To read the letter, click here.