New Law Requires Illinois Schools To Hold Shooting Drills

The head of Illinois' Emergency Management Agency says school security will continue to be a priority and that more changes could be coming.

A new law requires all schools to hold drills that practice what to do in the event of a shooting.

IEMA Director Jonathon Monken said legislation will likely be introduced to make sure future school construction standards include security measures. He said it is part of a larger effort to keep schools safe.

"Illinois hired the country's first dedicated school intel analayst that works in our statewide terrorism and intelligence center here, to try and collect information up from these schools and ultimately the intelligence to be able to analyze it.  To  develop some trends.  To make sure if there is anyway we can head off these incidents before they occur," he said.

Monken said an effort might also involve giving schools more flexibility on spending what is known as health life safety money.

As of now, districts are prohibited from using those funds on certain security improvements.