Commission should stop pretending they even care about school shootings

It would almost be easier if they just stopped pretending. Pretending to do something to make sure the nation’s schools are safe. Oh sure, President Trump has appointed a commission on school safety. It was formed in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shootings, designed to find ways to prevent mass shootings in schools. So, how is it going? The commission, chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, has met just twice in the three months since it was formed. The most recent meeting was last Thursday, one day before 10 more lives were lost in a school shooting in Texas. Two meetings in three months is hardly making solving the problem an urgent priority. The commission is filled with politicians, all cabinet secretaries under President Trump. Those who spoke at Thursday’s briefing were so-called experts, primarily consultants. There are no educators represented, and no parents. One might think this whole commission is simply designed to serve as a stall tactic, delaying the thorny debate over gun control. Meanwhile, there have been 10 school shootings in the U.S. since Parkland. If our government is only going to appoint a commission that rarely meets and doesn’t represent all points of view, it seems we are a long way off from completing the goal of putting an end to mass shootings in our schools.