Prevention is key to ending the rash of school shootings in America, House Democrats and witnesses said Tuesday, in sharp contrast to Republican calls to arm teachers and harden schools.

“I think the real solution is how do you get to these children before they become school shooters?,” said Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida. “There’s so much that we can do, but our elected officials don’t understand prevention, so they don’t want to fund prevention.”

Democrats, led by House Education and the Workforce Committee ranking member Bobby Scott, called a hearing with school leaders, researchers, and a teacher from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Their testimony, which emphasized ideas like social-emotional learning, threat prevention, and avoiding exclusionary discipline, diverged from provisions put forward by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

Read the full article on approaches to school safety by Carolyn Phenicie at The 74