"The School Safety Commission report lays out policies and practices that make children less safe and deny them educational opportunities. It is unconscionable to use the very real horror of the shooting at Parkland to advance a preexisting agenda that encourages the criminalization of children and undermines their civil rights. The report's recommendations fly in the face of the research consensus regarding school safety and disregard the clear demand - from the children themselves - for commonsense gun safety legislation. Instead of ignoring the children and their rights under the law, we urge educators and schools to implement the evidence-based strategies that will create the safe, welcoming schools all of our children deserve."

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org .