School security: What’s changed since the Parkland shooting and what remains to be done

National school safety advocate Max Schachter, the founder and executive director of Safe Schools for Alex – a 501(c)(3) organization – talks with Steve Lasky about losing his son in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and his mission to provide the most current school safety best practices and resources to students, parents, school districts and law enforcement. 

Since the heartbreaking day, Max has been advocating for policy change at the highest levels of the U.S. government, working alongside members of Congress, leaders of all major federal agencies and sitting U.S. presidents to make schools safer.

Schachter has testified as a subject matter expert before the U.S. House and Senate and multiple state legislatures. In 2018 he advocated for the creation of a federal agency to house national school safety best practices.

In 2019, Schachter’s vision became a reality when President Trump created the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse at SchoolSafety.gov. Schachter attended a White House ceremony last year where President Biden announced the most significant gun safety legislation in 27 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which made SchoolSafety.gov permanent and law.