Horrific incidents involving gunmen and students have made the news more than once in recent weeks — leaving parents, educators and law enforcement leaders in a quandry over how to provide more safety for students.

Even before Jimmy Lee Dykes took five-year-old Ethan from a school bus last week, a bill had been pre-filed helping to make boarding a school bus without permission a punishable offense under a new law.

In the wake of the turmoil in Midland City, administrators and leaders at area schools were quickly meeting with school bus drivers and other school personnel to hold a refresher course on how to handle such situations.

We applaud our lawmakers for having the ability to see actions around the country and take steps to safeguard our school children if such horrible incidents should occur on our campuses.

We also applaud our educators — from superintendents to custodians — who have taken steps to keep safety procedures at the top of a priority list that includes taking the best care possible of our children.

As you welcome your children safely home from school each day, thank those who take the responsibility of their safety seriously for making that homecoming possible.

To our lawmakers and educators, we offer our thanks.