A proposed bill in Texas would mandate that students as young as 8 years old learn how to utilize bleeding control stations in the event of a school shooting. Currently, only students in seventh grade and above are required by state law to possess this knowledge.
The legislation that would enable training for third-graders and above on how to use bleeding control stations was written by State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins. These stations are equipped with essential supplies like chest seals, compression bandages and tourniquets.
"I don't want children exposed to this,” Cleo Petricek, co-founder of Save Austin Now, said. “I want them to be protected in a bubble, but that's not how it is in this country."
According to KHOU, Petricek is a mother of a 9-year-old and said, if House Bill 1147 passes into law, it could potentially save lives during a mass casualty event.
"For tornado watch, they prepare children for a casualty, and the quicker that you respond to a gunshot and stop bleeding, the higher likelihood that you will save a life even if it has to be a child that's trained in this," Petricek said.
Parents would be required to give written permission for their children to attend the battlefield trauma care instruction sessions, and it is an opt-in process.
But many experts and representatives are worried this bill would have negative effects on children’s mental health.
Rep. Ann Johnson said at a March meeting of Texas’s House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety that she is concerned about training kids that it’s acceptable for their school to be a warzone.
“I worry about how we balance this interest of having them be prepared for trauma and not letting them think that the state of Texas is not considering more significant solutions,” Johnson said.
Dr. Christopher Hansen, a licensed counseling psychologist, said many first responders and others professionally trained to handle these situations experience PTSD.
“Why on earth would we do that to our children?"
Currently, no vote has been made on the HB, and no date for a vote is set.
