The Senate today concurred with minor changes made in the House to a first-of-its-kind Republican measure that will modernize emergency planning in schools--so that students, teachers and first-responders can act fast in a crisis.

Supporters of the SB 181 indicate that the governor is expected to sign the measure into law.  The House also overwhelmingly approved the measure 64-1.

“We need to build upon some of the lessons we’ve learned here in Colorado related to school safety,” said Castle Rock Republican Sen. Tom Wiens, the Senate sponsor of the legislation.

"During the school season, almost a fifth of our state's population is in a school everyday, about 800,000 people. School safety is an important issue that needs close attention," Wiens said. “I recently spent a lot of time talking to school officials, both around the state and in my district, about school safety and ways to keep our kids as safe as possible."

“The more I talked to educators around the state, I realized if there is an incident at the school, it's the teacher who is really the first responder,” said Wiens.  “There is a real desire by (teachers) to be educated so they know how to best react to incidents--incidents other than just a fire.”

In the bill's earlier hearing in committee, Wiens had pointed to a recent tragedy in his own Senate district as an example. In 2006, an armed man entered Platte Canyon High School in Bailey, southwest of Denver, and took four students hostage at gunpoint, killing 16-year-old junior Emily Keyes as police stormed the classroom.

SB 181 will formalize and standardize what schools are already doing to ensure the safety of their students and staff, Wiens said.  The training is intended to mirror The National Incident Management System, created by Homeland Security Presidential Directive Five, which standardizes methods all emergency responders should follow to plan, coordinate and carry out the response to a variety of incidents.

Reflecting proven practices of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration and a host of other federal agencies, the legislation provides flexibility and support for integrated, collaborative action by schools, during a crisis.

Letters of support from around Colorado have flooded the Capitol building since the bill’s introduction. One came from Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener, who oversaw the Sept. 27, 2006 incident at Platte Canyon High School.

“I am in full support of Senate Bill 181," Wegener wrote. "I believe that familiarity and repetition would further aid law enforcement as well as the educational community in an organized operation during a school incident.”

School districts such as Douglas County, Adams12 Five Star, and Jefferson County as well as the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Education Association, and the Colorado Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers have all expressed support for the measure.