NC Lawmakers Asked To Consider A Crackdown On School Threats

North Carolina education officials want to crack down on false school threats, which have spiked since a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. 

A report by the Educator's School Safety Network says there has been over a 300 percent increase nationally in fake threats reported since 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. 

Now North Carolina officials are urging lawmakers to make it a felony when mass violence is threatened on school property.

More than 84 percent of respondents to a state School Board's Association survey support a bill criminalizing false threats.

The News and Observer reports legislation that stalled in the North Carolina Senate last year is again up for consideration.

Opponents worry that the severity of a felony conviction could follow a student for life.

But supporters say raising the consequences for making a threat could be a deterrent, and cause students to think before they act.