Safer Schools & Safer Communities
2025 Policy Framework Strengthens Protections for Students & Families
The Oklahoma District Attorneys Association’s 2025 policy framework includes measures to enhance school safety and prevent gun violence. Key provisions include:
Adding firearm discharges into homes to Oklahoma’s 85% crimes list
Expanding Youthful Offender statutes for school threats
Holding contracted school staff to the same safety standards as full-time personnel.
These reforms seek to secure schools and neighborhoods, creating safer environments for students and families.
FEBRUARY 21, 2025 (Oklahoma City, OK) – Broad support continues to build for a new plan from the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association (ODAA) to enhance safety across the state’s schools and neighborhoods.
As part of the ODAA’s 2025 public policy framework — Stronger Communities, Safeguarding the Vulnerable — the ODAA is working with Oklahoma policymakers to address gun violence, improve school safety, and protect families in their homes.
“Every child deserves to feel safe in their school, and every family deserves to feel secure in their home,” said District Attorney Jack Thorp, President of the ODAA. “This agenda reflects our unwavering commitment to creating safer communities for all Oklahomans.”
A key provision of the ODAA’s policy framework includes adding firearm discharges into dwellings to Oklahoma’s 85% crimes list, which ensures offenders serve the majority of their sentences in prison for serious crimes. Additionally, the expansion of Youthful Offender provisions to include actual school threats and firearm crimes provides accountability for offenders who jeopardize safety.
Already State Sen. Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle, and President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate) has shepherded Senate Bill 631 out of the Senate’s Public Safety committee. The bill ensures that individuals who willfully or intentionally discharge a firearm or other deadly weapon into a dwelling is an 85% crime. Senate Bill 631 will now be considered by the full Senate.
“Right now, if you step out of a vehicle to shoot into a house, this crime is treated different than a drive-by shooting,” Pro Tem Paxton said. “This legislation ensures that individuals who recklessly and intentionally endanger lives by firing into homes, businesses or public buildings face the serious consequences they deserve. By adding this crime to the list of 85% offenses, we are sending a clear message that such violent actions will not be tolerated in Oklahoma. This will also give law enforcement and district attorneys the proper tools they need to hold these criminals accountable.”
Thorp thanked Pro Tem Paxton for his leadership on the issue. “Senator Paxton recognizes that measures like these are as much about prevention as they are about accountability. We thank him for his leadership moving it forward.” said Thorp. “By addressing these threats head-on, we are protecting spaces where Oklahomans live, learn, and grow.”
The ODAA’s 2025 policy framework also ensures that contracted school security personnel are held to the same rigorous safety standards as other full-time staff, closing gaps in student safety protections, which will provide parents with the confidence that all adults tasked with protecting students meet high expectations.
“By strengthening school safety and addressing gun violence, we’re taking proactive steps to protect the most vulnerable among us,” Thorp added. “Oklahomans deserve nothing less than our full commitment to their safety.”
About the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association: The Oklahoma District Attorneys Association represents the state’s prosecutors, working for justice and public safety. Through sound policy and community engagement, the ODAA works to protect Oklahoma’s residents and uphold the rule of law.
