California Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli has reintroduced legislation aimed at enhancing school safety by requiring at least one armed school resource officer (SRO) on every public school campus in the state.
The move follows a tragic incident on Wednesday in Oroville, California, where a man shot and injured two kindergartners at a Seventh-Day Adventist school.
Essayli’s proposal, Assembly Bill 68, comes after Democrats on the Assembly Education Committee rejected a similar measure earlier this year. Speaking to The Daily Wire, Essayli emphasized the urgent need to prioritize the protection of children in schools.
While the bill would not apply to private institutions like the one targeted in the recent shooting, Essayli hopes the legislation will establish a new safety benchmark. He stated that setting this expectation for public schools could encourage private schools to adopt similar measures.
“If parents begin to expect armed guards protecting their children at public schools, private schools would soon follow the lead as well if that becomes the standard,” Essayli explained.
The assemblyman’s renewed push for AB 68 reflects growing concerns about school security and the need for proactive measures to prevent future tragedies.
The legislation comes after two children were shot and injured by a suspected gunman at Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Palermo, California last week.
The small private school, located north of Sacramento, serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade and has a total enrollment of 33. After the shooting, students were evacuated to a nearby church for safety. No information has been released about injuries to faculty or other students.
Sheriff Kory Honea told local media that officers found the suspected shooter dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound upon arriving at the scene. Investigators are working to determine whether the shooter had any connection to the school.
