The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to award $1.8 million in grants for the development of School-Age Trauma Training programs to teach students how to respond to traumatic hemorrhaging during “mass casualty events,” including school shootings.
The suggestion has stoked frustration, and some sarcasm, from gun-control advocates who believe Congress and federal officials have not done enough to change gun laws and boost school safety after two large school shootings in Florida and Texas.
Descriptions for the grant program say the training is to prepare students for mass-casualty events, which could include natural disasters. But a statement of objectives for the program specifically discusses school shootings. Though posted in July, plans for the program have been in development for about a year, a DHS spokesman said, predating the Parkland, Fla., shootings.
