My daughter died at Parkland. While we argue about guns, let's fix school security. Let the gun debate play out over the long term. In the meantime let's act on what we agree on: hardening school security to keep our children safe.

Andrew Pollack and Christopher Neiweem | Opinion contributors

The responsibility to protect our children in schools across America is something that requires the voice of every citizen. We can't do it alone, and we can't accomplish this task with political warfare occurring between us.

We can't let disagreement in the halls of our state legislatures, Congress, school boards, sidewalks or local communities divide us and prevent us from getting done the reforms we know we can agree on. We can fix the weaknesses in our schools' security with practical changes in the short term, while the more contentious issues surrounding firearm policy play out over the long term. There are basic, important and life-protecting policies we can enact right now to fix the problem of violence in our schools.

Americans for Children's Lives and School Safety has produced an eight-point plan to protect our children and our schools, and it revolves around basic security principles. If enacted, our recommendations would elevate our school safety to the same level as sports arenas, government buildings, courthouses and military bases. We currently protect our adults, protect our politicians and protect our public buildings, and it is imperative we protect our children using comparable security protocols.

Safe schools mission after daughter's death

The leading co-author of this piece suffered the loss of his wonderful daughter, Meadow Pollack, in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. This tragedy has inspired a national movement to fix school safety — a mission that is critical and will not end until real reform is enacted to ensure that the next threat to our children is neutralized.

The Americans for CLASS' eight-point plan focuses on perimeter security, controlling human building entry frequency, protecting the interior, developing a school safety volunteer network, including parent input, appointing clear leadership, increasing support for mental health, and launching a safety hotline. These are steps we can take today, and we need to get them done.

Perimeter security includes cameras and monitoring technologies, coupled with single or limited points of entry, to manage the human flow of entrance, reducing potential risks to our kids. Further, we must place armed guards inside our schools and harden the target. School resource officers who are well trained and medically fit would be instrumental in defending our children in the event of an attack.

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Protect students from gun violence as well as we in Congress protect ourselves

We simply must not accept the argument that federal legislation and good wishes will stop those who wish to do us harm, regardless of the type of weapon that might be used in an attack. We must protect our kids. Armed guards are perhaps the most critical component, and we cannot back down on this part of the plan. Without these guards, it doesn't work.

We should look to our seasoned military veterans to fill these positions. They have unique experience with weapons safety and deserve consideration for jobs that will be needed under this initiative.

The final components involve a sound and coherent parental communication network led by a school safety officer who can manage any emergency response efforts, and concurrently, keep parents informed of security efforts. Developing a school safety hotline and increasing funding for mental health will be critical as well.

We need to focus on safety, not politics

It will take dedication, hard work and consistent community effort to come together and agree on basic safety measures, notwithstanding the ongoing (and often distracting) debate about guns, extraneous factors or political messaging that come with that debate.

These policy proposals deserve local, state and federal policy consideration and warrant immediate national action. At the same time, ongoing dialogue rightfully will continue regarding the correct and fair steps our states and federal government should take to carry out laws and the extent to which gun regulations should be amended.

We must take the precautions we can agree on and increase school security now. School safety is broken, and our eight-point plan will fix it.

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, is the founder of Americans for CLASS. Christopher Neiweem, founder of the Neiweem Group, is vice president of X-Strategies and an Iraq War veteran. Follow them on Twitter: @AndrewPollackFL and @ChrisNeiweem