Dupage Policy Journal

Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) is praising the passage of a new bill prohibiting Illinois school lockdown drills from including graphic simulations to mimic a school shooting.

House Bill 2400, sponsored by Villa, was passed by the Senate on May 27 with a vote of 57-0.

“I was honored to carry HB2400 in the Senate!,” Villa wrote in a July 7 Facebook post. “This legislation will give students an opportunity to prepare for an active threat without having to experience the distress of a school shooting. Without the power of youth organizing HB2400 would not have been presented to me.”

Under HB2400, parents and guardians must be notified at least five days prior to a walk-through lockdown drill being conducted. This is intended to give them an opportunity to exempt their child from participating, and be instead be provided with alternative safety education and instruction related to an active threat or shooter event.

The legislation also requires drills to be announced to students and school personnel in advance, and feature age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate content.

Villa stated on the Senate Democrats website that school drills must include trauma-informed approaches “that will not be harmful to our students’ mental health.”