LANSING - Schools and local authorities have been preparing themselves for the school rush since last year.

"Sports practices will be starting up so now is the time to plan. Otherwise, tomorrow is going to be the first day of school and you're not going to be ready," said Suzy Carter of the Lansing Area Safety Council.

While parents should start planning immediately, authorities across the state already have.

"There's kind of the climate and culture of a building, there's the physical plant, there's the partnerships with law enforcement and mental health groups in the community that go along with building that safe school environment," said Kyle Guerrant, manager of the Coordinated School Health and Safety Programs through the Michigan Department of Education.

An important part of the plan is communication.

"Friends within the attorney general's office, we partner with them on a program called 'OK2SAY,' which is a text and electronic way to let kids and adults give anonymous tips about school safety," Guerrant said.

The many groups invested in school safety include groups from both parties, but stopping school shootings is a priority for both.

"The only reasonable thing to do is to lock them up," Dr. Linda Brundage of the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence said about preventing kids from getting their hands on guns. "We're not going to pass one law about XYZ and sort of go, 'OK, we won't have any more gun violence.'"