New Jersey task force releases school safety recommendations

NEWARK (AP) — A New Jersey task force charged with improving safety in the state's public schools has issued a long list of recommendations that includes increasing police presence on school grounds and requiring students and staff to display identification cards at all times.

The multi-agency New Jersey School Security Task Force's final report released on Thursday lists 42 recommendations.

They include establishing a school safety specialist academy and working to improve response times to emergencies.

But it recommends that many decisions, including whether to install screening systems like metal detectors at school entrances, be left to school districts.

Education Commissioner David Hespe said in a statement the report would serve as guide for ensuring that the state's school remain safe.

The report comes in the wake of several mass school shootings.

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