COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH

OVERSIGHT DIVISION

FISCAL NOTE

L.R. No.:         0366-01

Bill No.:          SB 75

Subject:           Education, Elementary and Secondary; Public Safety Department

Type:              Original

Date:               January 25, 2013

Bill Summary:            This proposal requires school districts and charter schools to provide training and education about firearms safety and addressing potentially dangerous or armed intruders.

FISCAL SUMMARY

Numbers within parentheses: ( ) indicate costs or losses.

This fiscal note contains 7 pages.

☐ Estimated Total Net Effect on All funds expected to exceed $100,000 savings or (cost).

☐ Estimated Net Effect on General Revenue Fund expected to exceed $100,000 (cost).

FISCAL ANALYSIS

ASSUMPTION

Officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) provided the following information and assumptions regarding this proposed legislation:

Estimated Costs:

Training - First Year 2014-2015

Initial Training (8 hours): 66,781 Teachers x $249.89 =                    $16,687,904.00

Training - Beginning in 2015 

Continuing Training (4 hours): 63,281 Teachers x $124.95 =                   $ 7,906,960.95

Initial Training (8 hours): 3,500 New Teachers x $249.89 =                  $ 874,615.00

First Grade Gun Safety Program 

69,287 Students x $2.00 =                      $ 138,574.00

DESE notes that the National Rifle Association has developed the "Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program" which is currently free to schools through a grant. It is important to consider cost as a factor since school districts and charter schools have the flexibility to choose and/or develop their own program meeting the guidelines of the legislation. 

ASSUMPTION (continued)

Summary of Costs:

2014-2015

Cost of Materials for First Grade Students                                                                 $138,574.00  

Training (8 Hours)                                                                                           $16,687,904.00

$16,826,478.00

2015-2016 +

Cost of Materials for First Grade Students                                                     $138,574.00

Training (8 Hours – New Teachers)                                                                           $874,615.00

Training (4 Hours – Returning Teachers)                                                        $ 7,906.960.95

                                                                                                                               $ 8,920,149.95

Oversight has confirmed with the National Rifle Association that Missouri does qualify for the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program grant and there would be no charge to Missouri schools for training materials. For fiscal note purposes only, Oversight will not show a cost for training for first grade students (§171.140).

Oversight assumes that if school districts conduct the required training in such a way that substitute teachers could be utilized to take a salaried teacher’s place while in training, the cost to the school district would be the cost of the substitute teachers. Assuming a cost of $75 per day for a substitute teacher, cost to the districts could be $5,008,575 (66,781 x $75) per year. Oversight will range the fiscal impact to school districts from ($5,008,575 to $16,826,478) for FY 14 and ($5,008,575 to $8,881,576) for FY 15 and FY 16 (§170.315).

According to the Department of Public Safety - Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Public Information and Education Division currently offers the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety program to elementary school children upon a request from the school. In August 2012, a new Active Shooter power point program was introduced which is about an hour in length. Additionally, the Missouri School Board Association through the Center for Education Safety, and in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Public Safety, currently offers an active shooter training for school teachers and faculty through a company in Kansas known as STRATEGO. Therefore, the Highway Patrol anticipates no fiscal impact.

ASSUMPTION (continued)

Officials from the Blue Springs School District assume this proposal would require their district to add additional contract time to teachers and contract with appropriate law enforcement personnel to provide the training. They anticipate the additional cost to be $500,000 to $650,000 annually.

Officials from the Springfield Police Department (SPD) provided the following assumptions of cost to their department:

In 2015, lesson plan development based on the language of the bill would cost SPD $1,120 in staff time. Based on language of the proposal, the training for all teachers in the 53 schools within the Springfield R-12 School District would Be $35,616. Total impact of the bill for 2014 to the SPD would be $36,737.

In subsequent years, the cost for the lesson plan update is $280 and the required training for teachers would cost $17,808 for a total cost of $18,068 per year.

Officials from the Jefferson City Police Department assume this legislation will create a minimal fiscal impact on local law enforcement. The presentation of the training will require overtime or adjustments to staffing to accomplish. Many agencies are already doing this training and will continue to do so at an acceptable financial burden. Agencies that are not doing the training will need to expend monies to train officers to administer the training or pay to bring in presenters/trainers. That cost is unknown until the training is contracted.

Based on information received from the Springfield and Jefferson City Police Departments, Oversight will, for fiscal purposes only, assume the cost to local law enforcement agencies will be more than $100,000 per year.

Officials from the University of Missouri System (Charter School Sponsors) assume the proposal would not fiscally impact their institutions.

FISCAL IMPACT - Small Business

Small businesses that may offer the training and materials described in the bill could see a positive fiscal impact.

FISCAL DESCRIPTION

This act establishes the Active Shooter and Intruder Response Training for Schools Program (ASIRT). By July 1, 2014, each school district and charter school must train teachers and school employees on how to respond to students with information about a threatening situation and how to address a potentially dangerous or armed intruder or active shooter in the school or on school property. Training must be conducted on an annual basis. Initial training must be eight hours in length and continuing training must be four hours in length. All school personnel must annually participate in a simulated active shooter and intruder response drill conducted by law enforcement professionals, as described in the act. Program instructors must be certified by the Department of Public Safety's Peace Officers Standards Training Commission.

This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not require additional capital improvements or rental space.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Department of Public Safety

            Missouri State Highway Patrol

School Districts

            Blue Springs

Charter School Sponsors

            University of Missouri System

Local Law Enforcement

            Jefferson City Police Department

            Springfield Police Department

                                                                                                Ross Strope

                                                                                                Acting Director

                                                                                                January 25, 2013