Statement on Parkland Shooting
As families mourn and the country tries to make sense of the horrific events last week in south Florida, we are heartbroken. We are heartbroken for the loss of students who will never graduate, for teachers and administrators who put the lives of their students above their own, and for the lost opportunities to have prevented this event. Schools should be safe and positive places.
Students should not experience extreme violence at school. Teachers should not have to put themselves in harms way. And, importantly, students should not escalate and carry out such horrendous attacks.
The Executive Committee of the Council for Exceptional Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) is committed to improving schools for all. As such, we want to champion school-based, emotional and behavioral evidence-based interventions to reduce and ameliorate violence, depression, anxiety, social isolation, school exclusion, and dropout.
In the wake of this and other tragedies, we stand with our partners at the American Educational Research Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, the Council for Exceptional Children, and other organizations committed to improving the lives of students and teachers and will do everything in our power to reduce the likelihood of future terrible events.
As a first step, we are bringing our mental health recommendations front and center and widely distributing our position statement in hopes that we can improve and provide intervention earlier and better. Let us all take this opportunity to redouble our efforts and commitments and do all we can to advocate and support children with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders and the adults who work tirelessly to improve their lives.
CCBD’S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON THE FEBRUARY 14, 2018, SCHOOL SCHOOTING AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL IN PARKLAND, FL