CALIFORNIA, USA — Landon Block remembers sitting in his eighth-grade history class, the day after the Parkland shooting, when the stress and anxiety of a potential school shooting hit him.
“I was scanning all around the room for potential exits where I would go if something happened. And I realized that that isn't something (sic) I should be doing,” Block said. "It shouldn’t be something I'm doing, let alone in a place where I'm supposed to learn and feel safe."
At the same time, active school shooter drills have been a part of the 20-year-old’s life since he started school.
While the drills are designed to help prepare students for the danger and chaos of a school shooter, a lack of standardized regulations has led to the drills themselves causing added stress.
A study found students experience a rise in anxiety, stress and depression after school shooting drills are performed.
California hopes to ease students' mental health with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a new state law to bring more regulation to how schools can handle these drills.
The new law bans the use of “high-intensity” drills. High-intensity drills include using performances of victims or shooters, fake blood and the use of weapons or explosives.
"There are ways that we can provide some common sense guidance on how to be able to process this exercise without creating confusion or trauma," said the law's author, Assemblymember Chris Ward.
The California Department of Education will be issuing recommendations, however, Ward said it will ultimately be up to the school districts to decide how to “fine-tune” the new safety rules.
“Sometimes without that guidance, you've had schools, parents or principals (who) have gone a little bit too far,” Ward said.
Block is now a student at Cal-Poly Technical San Luis Obispo. He hopes the new law helps prevent students from experiencing the same stress he did back in his history class.
“I'm really excited for this bill to have the chance to make sure that schools are well prepared, that students receive the best training possible and that we don't add on to the fear that school shootings already have on students,” Block said.
The Department of Education will need to post the recommended guidelines for active school shooter drills on its website by June 15, 2025.
