PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   Maine’s two U.S. senators are joining a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce legislation designed to fund school security improvements.

Independent Sen. Angus King and Republican Sen. Susan Collins say they are supporting fellow senators who want to pass the Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018. The legislation would also boost early intervention and prevention programs designed to curb school violence.

Collins says the proposal would help communities pay for new training and reporting systems, as well as enhance school security infrastructure. She and King say the legislation would authorize the federal Department of Justice to make grants available for the purpose of training students, school staff and law enforcement workers to identify signs of violence and intervene to stop it.