ATLANTA – House Majority Caucus Chair Bonnie Rich (R-Suwanee) today issued the following statement regarding recent reports of violence at Gwinnett County Public Schools:
“Due to the inaction of our local school board members, who are entrusted to keep students safe, our children will remain vulnerable to threats of violence every time they step foot on campus. Instead of providing support to our teachers and implementing real change that would make our schools safer, the Gwinnett County Board of Education has loosened the district’s discipline policies to let dangerous individuals off the hook and back in the classrooms. Clearly, the school board has not heard the cries of parents who are afraid to send their children into these war zones. The school board can have ‘conversations’ about implementing safety measures all they want, but until they actually prevent weapons from entering our schools and start disciplining students who perpetuate violence on school property, teachers will continue to leave, learning will be disrupted and violence will escalate in Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is time to hold the school board accountable for their inaction and demand real changes, such as deploying more school resource officers, so Gwinnett students can learn in safe environments and parents can feel safe sending their children to school.”
Representative Bonnie Rich represents the citizens of District 97, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves as the Majority Caucus Chairman. She also serves on the Special Committee on Election Integrity, as well as the Rules, Education, Ethics, Judiciary, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, Retirement and Ways & Means committees.
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