LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In just a few weeks Arkansas students will be going back to the classroom and ahead of that school safety recommendations are starting to come from the Capitol.
This comes after Governor Asa Hutchinson created the Arkansas School Safety Commission more than a month ago.
These recommendations are coming from the safety commission which is made up of educators, police, mental health experts, and legislators.
The group was brought together after the tragic shooting in Uvalde, and its goal is to improve Arkansas's school safety policies.
Committee members have now begun to look over issues reported from the emergency response to the shooting in Uvalde in order to to help guide their new recommendations.
The committee's guidance is designed to apply to schools throughout the state and could start being shared before classes start next month.
"Now, our focus going forward is going to be to get these recommendations approved by the full commission... we're doing this because it's so critically important," said Dr. Cheryl May, Arkansas School Safety Commission Chair to the committee on Tuesday after they debated possible recommendations.
Some of the suggestions the committee discussed on Tuesday included keeping an armed presence on campuses at all times, installing electronic access door locks, and expanding mental health training.
The committee said they are focusing on making these recommendations attainable and consistent across the state.
They have been trying to build upon directions they first made in 2018 to make the 2022 guidance more attainable.
They are not formal recommendations yet but are just a preview of what's to come.
A draft report of the committee's full recommendations are due to Governor Hutchinson by Monday, but the final report won't come until October.
There is a chance that schools could start adapting them as early as next week with the draft proposal.
Legislators are also expected to discuss these policies in a special session next month.