FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have heard emotional pleas from the parents of two teenage shooting victims as a school safety bill started moving forward.
The parents of Bailey Holt and Preston Cope told lawmakers there should be no higher priority than protecting children.
Holt and Cope were killed in last year's shooting at Marshall County High School.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the bill, which legislative leaders have designated as a top priority for this year's session.
The measure calls for hiring a state school security marshal to bolster oversight of school-safety efforts. It also sets a state goal of hiring more school resource officers and enhancing mental health services in schools as deterrents to violence, but only as soon as funding becomes available.