Special Education Restraint Questioned
An investigation by the federal Government Accounting Office last year found that restraining or isolating disruptive students may be much more common than expected, particularly in special education classrooms. Some states already have counted thousands of incidents, and researchers studying the issue believe those numbers are underestimated.
March 2010
Investing in School Safety
Lack of oversight on safety issues can cost districts millions of dollars in the damages awarded each year to families of children injured at school. Although insurance companies usually pay these settlements, schools and taxpayers ultimately shoulder the burden through legal fees, higher taxes and insurance premiums, or loss of coverage.
December 2009
Do You Have a Disaster Plan?
School leaders know the ones who survive in uncertain times are the ones who can envision the uncertain, prepare and plan for it, then do it all over again. Good emergency preparedness can respond to any disruption. Common traits to effective emergency planning include widespread communication, duplication in roles, and flexibility.
December 2009
Columbine's 10th Anniversary
It has been 10 years since the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. -- a day that is remembered as education’s 9/11. To mark the anniversary, ASBJ interviewed school administrators and leaders in charge of the Jefferson County School District that day.
May 2009
Communicating During a Crisis
Effective school-community relations can be defined as “Good behavior, well communicated.” To effectively communicate about safety issues, you must make sure your schools have well-developed and exercised safety and crisis plans and your staff is trained to implement them. What not to say can be as important as what to say.
March 2009
When Disaster Strikes Your Schools
Disasters come in many forms, both natural and manmade, but school districts that are prepared for the worst are better able to get back up and running in the aftermath. Preparedness plans help district leaders coordinate when schools should close, how to communicate to staff and parents, and thousands of other details big and small.
December 2008
The Red Flags of School Safety
People who are passionate about school safety have a vision we share with concerned parents, educators, and especially with the kids we’re obliged to protect. In this vision our schools become safe havens for kids – warm, welcoming sanctuaries that foster learning and wall off threats and violence.
December 2008
If a Tornado Strikes Your School
How would you handle the specter of a tornado spinning toward your school? What split-second decisions would you make? No single plan and no one decision is fool-proof when it comes to tornadoes. Still, you’re more likely to save lives if you follow these strategies, adapted from NOAA’s Preparedness Guide for Schools.
December 2008
Recognizing Sexual Grooming
School districts that want to protect students from sexual misconduct by staff should consider ways to prevent “sexual grooming,” a task that is difficult because such grooming often is only evident after the fact. The best way for school districts to prevent the grooming is by stopping inappropriate boundary invasions.
December 2008
Protecting Students Online
Web-savvy kids are trying anything and everything to connect to their peers, but are not aware of the dangers that lurk in online communities. Teachers and, to a lesser extent, parents are not as facile with the new technology, and are hard pressed to keep tabs on what kids are doing.
December 2008
School Hazardous Materials Accidents Are Preventable
An underground natural gas explosion at the London School, 125 miles southeast of Dallas, killed more than 300 students, staff, and townspeople on March 18, 1937. How did such a tragedy fade from memory? And why, only in the past few years, are people trying to raise awareness about it again?
April 2008
The Drive to Improve School Bus Safety
With more than 25 million students riding a school bus each year, everyone must work together to make sure disasters do not occur.
December 2007
Careful Bus Stop Selection Can Improve Student Safety
How to reduce student accidents and injuries
December 2007
Is Your District's Safety Plan Up To Date?
Are you ready to respond when a crisis occurs in one of your schools?
December 2007
Calming Fears, Creating Partners
The unpredictable and serious nature of physical and mental-health crises on school campuses—from the pandemic flu and school shootings to food allergies and suicide—can leave parents feeling vulnerable and helpless. With research suggesting these incidents are on the rise, schools have a responsibility not only to know how they will respond, but also to tell parents—ahead of time—how schools will respond. Are your schools prepared to handle a crisis? Do parents turn to—not on—you when problems erupt?
June 2007
The High Cost of Cleanup
Environmental hazards in schools are not often as visible as rusty water, but they certainly are common. They can be found in the form of asbestos in the ceiling tiles, mercury in an old thermostat, or a jug of acid stored in a chemistry lab. Dealing with these invisible threats may not seem as pressing as closing the achievement gap or getting the buses to run on time. But experts warn that the cost of ignoring these risks can be great.
December 2006
A Measured Approach
After a series of deadly shootings, experts urge schools to take thoughtful steps to ensure safety.
December 2006
Safe from Harm
In the wake of several school shootings, a get-tough stance is tempting, but compassion and conversations are just as important.
December 2006
When Child's Play Turns Tragic
A troubling school shooting case raises 'what if ...' questions about the need for adult supervision of young students
June 2006
Safe Hiring
All states have laws that address background checks for school employees, but state laws and local policies vary. One question is whether contractors and others should be checked in addition to employees.
December 2005
Schools and the Police
Students often witness or commit crimes. When police come to school to interview a student, school administrators are placed squarely between the competing interest of the police, on the one hand, and the student and parents on the other. Carefully drawn board policies can help guide school administrators, and those policies should in turn be guided by what the courts have said on the subject.
December 2005
December 2005 Marketplace
Resources on school safety and security.
December 2005
Beyond Zero Tolerance
Do zero-tolerance policies make schools safe? Many educators seem to think so—and see zero tolerance as the backbone of school discipline. But many dispute the assumptions that support zero tolerance. Stringent zero-tolerance policies identify every child as potentially dangerous. On the surface, the policies appear sensible and logical, but they end up punishing many children who are often frightened, sometimes thoughtless, but rarely dangerous.
September 2004
When Disaster Strikes
Perhaps no school crisis plan can be absolutely perfect. But school boards, legislators, government officials, and others responsible for crisis management have a responsibility to make sure their plans are based on the best information possible—to ensure that their plans are good policy, not just good politics.
July 2004
When the News Is Dire
School district contingency plans have not adequately reflected the prominent role played by newspapers, radio, and television in covering school tragedies. A study of school shootings holds valuable lessons on dealing with the media when crisis strikes.
July 2004
Searching for Security
How can educators stop violence at school? A recent case from California, United States v. Aguilera, illustrates that teamwork, common sense, and adherence to the law can work hand in hand to do just that.
May 2004
Partners for Safety
With school resource officers, good school security is a matter of trust. The common characteristics of effective and safe schools are strong leadership, a caring faculty, and the involvement of parents and community members, including law enforcement officials.
April 2004
School Safety After 9/11
For our schoolchildren's sake, it makes no sense to pretend that 9/11 had no impact on school safety. If nothing else, the events of that day should make us look at safety from a different perspective, so we can be better prepared—it's always better to be prepared than scared. Now more than ever, schools need swift, secure crisis plans.
September 2003
A Preventable Tragedy
This month's case, Niziol v. Pasco County District School Board, tells the story of a tragedy that unfolded over the course of a single day. A boy brought a loaded pistol to Ridgewood High School, near Tampa, Fla., and was killed in the school parking lot that afternoon when the gun accidentally discharged. The boy's parents sued the district, claiming school officials knew about the gun but failed to take action to avert a tragedy.
July 2003
Life-Saving Lessons
Not long ago, three teenage boys in New Bedford, Mass., devised a plan to conduct a violent rampage at their high school. The boys plotted to kill as many jocks, preps, thugs, and faculty as they could with bombs and guns. But the plot was uncovered before it could be carried out. The foiled plot was seen as a victory in the world of school security: The district's security measures had helped avert a potential mass murder. Finally, the lessons learned after Columbine were saving lives.
March 2002