“At NASBE, our hearts are breaking with the news from Connecticut today, and our deepest sympathies, and I know those of state board members around the country, go out to the victims and their families. As we and so many others promote policies and values to help make schools safe places for children to learn and thrive, we are sometimes reminded that so much more needs to be done.

“And now, stunned by these senseless acts of violence against children and their teachers, we will mourn, we will do what we can to help those affected, and we can’t help asking ‘why has this happened?’ But we must also move forward to do our best—with others in the education community—to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”

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The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more, visit www.nasbe.org.