Representative Marco Erickson, District 33, told the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee that RS 31861 would establish a structured "behavior threat and management assessment tool" for schools and provide an immunity clause for schools that follow the protocol.

"If you're following this protocol, you're gonna have some blessings come your way and they won't be suing you over this if something did happen," Representative Marco Erickson said during the committee's print hearing. He said the proposal draws on national standards and state partners and has been three years in development.

The bill's core, Erickson said, is a prevention-focused, multidisciplinary process that identifies students who may pose a risk and connects them with family and community supports. He described teams made up of school and state partners that will develop and implement written protocols and training: "the Board of Education, the Department of Education, Health and Welfare, and all these state partners… they'll get to do some training specific to how to implement that."

Committee members pressed on the bill's practical effects. Representative Hill asked whether the protocol would reliably find early warning signs. Erickson replied that experts told him there is "no absolute profile," and that the best strategy is "having a team of people who know that kid, know them in their community and know the community the best." Representative Hill pressed on whether the proposal would identify the repeated indicators that often preceded past shootings.

Representative Scott questioned a fiscal note tied to training, asking whether the bill required $300,000 in new spending. Erickson responded that the training funds were already in the budgets of the State Board of Education and partnering agencies and that the proposal did not require new, separate funding from JFAC.

A committee member moved to introduce the RS; the committee approved the motion by a unanimous voice vote. The motion's maker was not identified in the transcript. The committee did not record an exact numerical tally in the hearing but the chair declared the motion "unanimous."

RS 31861 as presented emphasizes prevention and training and would make implementation by districts and their partners the basis for the limited immunity. The bill text, as noted by Erickson, explicitly excludes changes to parental rights and states that certain extreme-case records remain confidential.

The committee did not take final action on the proposal beyond introduction; a full bill hearing and the specific statutory language would govern how immunity, confidentiality, and training are implemented going forward.