“As a father who knows the pain of losing a child in a preventable school shooting, I urge the administration to act with urgency and empathy. The lives of our nation’s children and educators are too important to play politics with,” said Tony Montalto, whose daughter, Gina, was murdered in the 2018 Parkland High School shooting.

In response to the attack, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz killed 17 students and staff and injured 17 more, the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse Board was created. This advisory board constructed a website that offers teachers and administrators resources and recommendations for mandating school safety. After the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, the board was expanded to include 26 school safety experts and education leaders. 

However, on Jan. 24, the Trump administration disbanded the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse. In a recent statement, the administration reasoned this decision, stating that the committee “will be focused solely on advancing [their] critical mission to protect the homeland” instead of focusing on school safety and practices. 

Without the board, teachers and administrators can only access resources previously published on the website. Going forward, school districts will rely more heavily on state and local initiatives and practices regarding safety. Redwood parent Zac Torry emphasizes the importance of federal resources — which are now gone — in ensuring his children’s safety at school. 

“Federal programs are very important. States can only offer so much funding and the federal government provides a lot more collaborative efforts and collaboration amongst the states so we can better arm ourselves with education and resources,” Torry said. 

With this resource absent while school violence rises, Torry expresses his concern about this disbandment. 

“The Federal School Safety Board provided us with knowledge and information to keep our schools safe and secure. Therefore, I feel it’ll impact our school safety,” Torry said. 

  Liz Webb is one of the five Reed Union School District Board of Trustees members. She describes safety as the number one priority for the board, regardless of whether federal resources exist.

“[Safety] is woven into the fabric of the mission and vision of schools. In order for students to thrive, they need to be in a safe environment. So that is the number one priority,” Webb said. “It’s incredibly valuable for schools to have federal, state and local support across the board. That doesn’t mean that the schools won’t continue to thrive if resources change. In my purview, it depends on how much the schools rely on those resources to execute.”

For Redwood specifically, Torry is confident that the school will succeed despite the board’s disbandment.

“I think Redwood is fairly prepared. We have a very progressive government and county that will continue to maintain school safety and security even without perfect federal funding,” Torry said. 

With the death of his daughter, Montalto has experienced the devastating nature of school violence. He became the president of Stand, an advocacy group for school safety in Parkland, Florida, to prevent families from enduring the same trauma he went through. In an interview with K-12 Dive, he highlighted the importance of prioritizing safety within schools.

“America’s schools are critical infrastructure, as defined by the Department of Homeland Security, and school safety is not a partisan issue — it’s a moral imperative,” said Montalto.