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School Safety News |
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Unruly students and violence in public schools are more of a worry for teachers and youth across the country than demands for rigorous academic standards and achievement, according to a new study. Nearly half the teachers surveyed by Public Agenda, a liberal polling group in New York City, said they spend most of their time trying to keep order in the classroom. "More than four in ten [teachers] say that teachers in their school spend more time trying to keep order than actually teaching, and surveys of students show them reporting pretty much the same thing." "High school students themselves report that violence in school is a fact of life, with many saying that they have seen 'serious fights' in their school at least monthly since they've been there." The report says the Gallup Poll 2002 recorded 76% of respondents citing "lack of student discipline" as a "serious problem" in their local schools; 63% reported "fighting, violence and gangs" in their schools. In Public Agenda's "Reality Check" survey of 3,207 students from 1998 to 2002, 40% of students said "serious fights in school occur once a month or more," while 56% said "hardly ever." "A majority [62%] also say their school has serious problems with too many students abusing alcohol or drugs. Most [64%] indicate that the hallways are crowded places where cursing is all too common." "Many [32%] report a serious problem with bullying. Only about a third say students treat one another with respect, and even fewer [18%] say most students treat teachers respectfully." Source: The Washington Times, April 25, 2003 |
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A parent's worst fear is having to send their children to a school that is not safe. Now we have a report from the Kentucky Center for School Safety that school violence is, in fact, increasing. A new report on school safety says disciplinary actions increased for a third straight year for certain violations. They were:
The report is from the Kentucky Center for School Safety in Richmond. It's based on data reported by public schools throughout the state. The report says school districts increasingly are using out-of-school suspensions, as opposed to expulsion or alternative placement. However, the report noted that the state's two largest school districts - Jefferson and Fayette counties - reported a decrease in out-of-school suspensions, yet suspensions increased 13 percent statewide, which means that disciplined students are allowed to remain on school property during their suspension. Sources: WKYT and Associated Press. |
What worries Americans most about public schools? DISCIPLINE!! That=s what. Over the past 30 years, court decisions and federal laws have hacked away at the power of educators to maintain a safe and civil school environment. Poll after poll shows "discipline in schools" tops the list of parent concerns with schools.The public=s sense that something has gone drastically wrong with school discipline isn't mistaken. Over the past 30 years, court decisions and federal laws have hacked away at the power of educators to maintain a safe and civil school environment. As a result, kids today are more likely than ever to go to disorderly schools. Educators have lost the ability to initiate students into a genuine civil and moral order. School discipline today would be more difficult than ever, even without all the changes by the courts and federal government, because of the increase of troubled families and disorderly kids. Some schools, especially those in inner cities, even have students who are violent felons. Today, principles lack the tools they used to have for dealing with the unruliest kids. Formerly, they could expel those kids permanently or send them to special schools for the "hard-to-discipline." Those special schools have largely vanished and state education laws usually don=t allow permanent expulsion anymore. So who did kill school discipline? And How did they do it? Federal law: THE INDIVIDUALS with DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) passed in 1975. Educators today also find their hands tied when dealing with another disruptive-and much larger-group of pupils, those covered by the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law effectively strips educators of the authority to transfer or to suspend for long periods any student classified as needing special education. This wouldn't matter if special education included mainly the wheelchair-bound or deaf students whom we ordinarily think of as disabled. But it doesn't. Over the past several decades, many of these kids are those once just called "unmanageable" or "antisocial": part of the legal definition of emotional disturbance is "an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers" - in other words, to be part of an orderly community. Prosecutors will tell you that disproportionate numbers of the juvenile criminals they now see are special-ed students.With IDEA restrictions hampering them, school officials can=t respond forcefully when these kids get into fights, curse teachers, or even put students and staff at serious risk, as too often happens. "We have examples of kids who have sexually assaulted their teacher and are then returned to the classroom." United States Supreme Court Decisions: The U.S. Supreme Court, in the 1960s and 1970s, made it difficult to enforce discipline in our schools.
At first glance, these decisions seemed sensible, but their unintended consequences helped create the situation schools now find themselves in. By making school discipline a constitutional issue, the Supreme Court has left educators fumbling their way through everyday disciplinary encounters with students ever since. "You can=t suspend me," became the taunt of many a disruptive student. Students soon learned that, if a school official does something they don=t like, they can sue him, or threaten to sue. The mere threat of a lawsuit is often enough to have a dulling effect on teachers and administrators. Educators, and understandably, are wary of students who are backed by litigious parents, not to mention numerous "student=s rights" handbooks which list all of the impermissible things teachers will try to make students do, such as:
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black anticipated where these decisions would lead the schools. He wrote in his dissenting opinion in Tinker:
Justice Black was right! Unfortunately, rights-empowered students are not just a discipline problem; they have also helped "dumb-down" the curriculum many administrators and teachers became fearful of disruptive, back-talking adolescents. They resorted to keeping classes amiable and non-threatening - in other words - unchallenging. The Supreme Court undoubtedly thought that Tinker and Goss would free students from oppressive adult authority. Yet today, some 30 years later, many students must march through metal detectors, get sniffed for drugs and guns by trained dogs, watch police and security guards patrol the halls - and in too many schools - they fear for their lives. Source: "Who Killed School Discipline,@ by Kay Hymowitz, City Journal. |
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So far in 2001, the Fayette County Public Schools report that students missed following number of school days:
Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics later in adults. Truants have been shown to be at higher risk for substance abuse, gang activity, and involvement in criminal activities such as burglary, auto theft and vandalism. In addition, adults who were frequently truant as teenagers are much more likely than those who were not to have: of living in poverty; more reliance on welfare support; children who exhibit problem behavior; and an increased likelihood of incarceration. Recent studies indicate that truancy may be a precursor to serious violent and non-violent offenses and that the connection between truancy and delinquency appears to be particularly prevalent among young males. In many communities, law enforcement officials have linked truancy to daytime burglaries and vandalism. In one California city, police reported that 60% of juvenile crime occurred between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.The financial impact of truancy and dropouts that result can be measured in several ways:
Left unaddressed, truancy during preteen and teenage years can have significant negative effects on the student, schools and society. It is important that we, as a community, develop strategies to address these chronic truants and the root causes of truancy, and stop the progression of these young people from truancy into more serious and violent behavior. |
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Louisville, KY A mother, Paula Renee Scherzinger, 28, recently appeared in Jefferson District Court because her 8 year old daughter missed nearly 60 days of school. As a result, Ms. Scherzinger was charged with Third Degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor. She was placed on house arrest for 57 days and will be on probation for the next two years. At the time of her sentencing, Ms. Scherzinger was told she must make sure that her daughter attends school every day. Only a doctor’s note would be a valid excuse. She must also attend parenting classes as part of a counseling program. This case is part of a crackdown on habitual truants led by the Jefferson County School System and the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office. The threat of jail time is designed to prod parents into taking responsibility. It is considered a last resort. Earlier this year, parents of 85 students were sent letters warning them to improve their children’s school attendance or face prosecution. The vast majority of those students are showing dramatic improvement in their attendance. Overall attendance in the Jefferson County elementary, middle and high schools is the best it has been in 10 years. Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, October 24, 2001 |
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Background Thousands of children were failing to attend school in Ramsey County, Minnesota in the early 1990s, and the system was failing the children too. In St. Paul, 73 percent of high school students had 15 or more absences per year. School officials knew that truant students were underachieving or even failing in the classroom, and police linked truancy to increases in daytime juvenile crime. Community leaders also worried about the long-term consequences of truancy - such as criminal activity, underemployment, unemployment and welfare dependency. In 1995. Susan Gaertner, Ramsey County Attorney, responded by establishing the Truancy Intervention Program (TIP). The program was developed in collaboration with five school districts, Juvenile Court, Ramsey County Community Corrections and private agencies. Now in its seventh year, this initiative compels students and parents to address truancy in a positive manner. TIP’s mission is to improve children’s lives and increase public safety. How It Works TIP is a three-step process involving progressively intrusive interventions to compel students and their parents to address the truancy problem in a positive manner. Step I Students with as few as three unexcused absences may be referred to TIP. The student's family is sent a letter informing them of the attendance problem and requiring them to attend a large-group meeting where an assistant county attorney discusses the legal, social and individual ramifications of continued poor attendance. Step 2 If school attendance does not improve after the initial intervention, the student and parents are required to attend a School Attendance Review Team (SART) hearing. At this hearing an assistant county attorney leads a team of school and other officials in negotiating a contract with the student and the parents. Step 3 If attendance still fails to improve, a truancy petition is filed in Ramsey County Juvenile Court and an expedited hearing is scheduled. A student faces such penalties as the loss of his or her driver's license. Results
What School Officials Say About TIP A recent survey of school district personnel revealed overwhelming support for the program, with 93 percent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that TIP enhances their efforts to improve attendance for chronic truants. |
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For too long, there was practically no communication between our schools and juvenile courts. It was not unusual for juvenile offenders to be charged with a crime, go through juvenile courts, be probated and sent back to school. More times than not, the school system was unaware of any court action . In addition, if those probated offenders violated the terms of their probation at school, the judge would generally never learn of it.
That doesn’t happen now, thanks to the new Fayette County Court-School Liaison. Michelle Garrett has been on the job since May, 2001, and her interaction with the other professionals in the juvenile court system appears to hold great promise for increasing the safety of our schools and improving the chances of success for at-risk kids. Michelle is in the courthouse everyday, providing academic, attendance and behavioral information about youth to judges, attorneys, probation officers and social workers. Having a school representative on the scene when decisions are made about placement and services for young people who have been through juvenile court promotes both better decisions and better preparation by the school system to cope with the problems of these young people. None of this would have happened without the generous support of many of Lexington’s business leaders. The financial support of the following businesses and individuals allowed our Court-School liaison to be hired on a pilot basis. Because of the success of the project so far, we expect the position to be fully funded by the Fayette County Public Schools in the future.
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Many of today's youngsters begin the school day passing through metal detectors. Guards patrol hallways, and police cars patrol outside. Despite these measures, assaults, knifings and shootings occur. According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics, during a one-year period there were:
These statistics understate the true magnitude of the problem, because not all school violence is reported. Times have changed. Behavioral problems years ago were:
That's a far cry from today's problems of school rapes, murder, theft, and assaults and threats to both students and teachers. We might just ask what could explain the differences in student behavior today and yesteryear. A probable answer is seen if we recognize that society's first line of defense is morality -- the morality of those thou-shalt-nots: shalt not kill, shalt not steal, shalt not lie, cheat, etc. The importance of morality is that people behave themselves even if nobody's watching. There are not enough cops and laws to replace personal morality as a means to produce a civilized society. Indeed, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society. Unfortunately, too many of us see police, laws and the criminal justice system as society's first line of defense. Customs, traditions, mores and rules of etiquette, not laws and government regulations, are what makes for a civilized society. These behavioral norms, mostly transmitted by example, word-of-mouth and religious teachings, represent a body of wisdom distilled through ages of experience, trial and error. Starting in the '60s, traditional behavioral norms became seen as inconvenient, fun-robbing, or inconsistent with one social agenda or another. Traditional values were discarded without an appreciation for the role they played in creating a civilized society, and now we're paying the price. What's worse is that few of us make the connection, and insist on more laws in the wake of school shootings. |
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Article written by Jennifer Wohlleb, Kentucky School Advocate, February, 2001.
Fayette County has created a system that addresses the often conflicting needs of keeping schools safe, maintaining confidential juvenile information and helping students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Since passage of the 1998 Safe Schools Act, the required sharing of information between Kentucky's juvenile courts and school systems has had mixed results. Aided by a two-year grant, Fayette County education and law enforcement leaders are making the law work to the benefit of schools and students. Ruth Webb, a former prosecutor in the Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, is leading the program, which she hopes will become a model for others. "When I first looked into this situation in Fayette County, I found that the system was not working," she said. "I started by going through court records to see what was happening. I also called principals to see if they were being notified...if judges were notifying principals when a petition (finding of guilt) was signed. It wasn't happening. Period." Fayette County Schools' Pupil Personnel Director Gary Wiseman said notifications were sporadic. "We'd go three or four months with no notice," he said. "The judges weren't satisfied with the system, and we weren't satisfied." Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson obtained the grant, which funds a court-school liaison, from the state's Prosecutors Advisory Council. Webb said a search is under way to hire a person to coordinate information sharing and students' transition back to school. "A judge frequently puts terms of probation on a student, such as returning to school, but often there is no follow up," she said. Permanent funding for the job is being sought from various community sources. Getting started More than safety |
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The ABA, an organization representing 400,000 lawyers, came out against "Zero Tolerance" policies in schools at the close of its winter meeting in San Diego, California. These policies typically address drugs, weapons and violence in schools. They came about partly because many schools faced lawsuits brought by lawyers, charging that discipline was unequally based on race and other factors. Parents are only interested in the safety of their children’s schools. They see "Zero Tolerance" policies as helping make those schools safer. The last thing America needs is the lawyers who, in large part, caused these "Zero Tolerance" policies in the first place, telling schools and the rest of us what’s best for us. Thanks For The Advice, ABA. BUT NO THANKS! |
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In 1999, 1,018 Lexington residents participated in "Speak Out Lexington." The series of discussions held throughout Lexington dealt with the topic: "How Can Our Community Be More Connected To Our Schools." The number one concern of participants at those gatherings was: The safety of students while they are at school. The most frequent response to the question, "What can schools do?" was: "Clear, accurate information
and regular, positive contact Clearly, the feeling of Lexington residents is that providing safe, non-threatening, non-violent schools is one of our most important responsibilities. Students should be safe at school. In school our children must be challenged to learn, rather than challenged to survive. Click on The Prosecutor's View for additional information. |
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"Widespread bullying is a significant problem in Colorado schools," says Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar. "More than 10,000 high school students across Colorado stay away from school at least one day a month out of fear of other students," he said. The issue of schoolyard bullying was raised after reports from Columbine High School of bullying by the school's "jocks" toward non-athletes. Salazar said that concerns over bullying were prevalent at all of Colorado's school districts, whether they were urban, rural or suburban. The plan called "Safe Communities-Safe Schools," recommends that each school develop a safety assessment and crisis management plan along with a social support team, which would act as a clearinghouse for information on problem students in a confidential setting. Note: What is the Fayette County Public School System doing about bullying? Check upcoming Criminal Justice Weekly Digests. Source: APBnews.com, "Colorado Tackles Bullying At Schools," by Keith Coffman, 11/17/00. |
Over the past two years, the National Association of Attorneys General met about youth violence and what can be done about it. First, they listened to professionals on school safety and youth violence. They were told:
That a child needs nurturing in his or her early childhood; and About the dire consequences of not receiving that nurturing. Second, they listened to students, parents and teachers. Students overwhelmingly said:
Some facts and thoughts about young people, violence and its causes from BRUISED INSIDE are listed below.
Youth violence is a problem that can be solved - not by government, but by people - especially parents and young people. While we hope and work for a better day when every child will be loved and cared for, we must, in the meantime, provide some semblance of structure and support for those who are abused, neglected and bullied, the ones who are driven away from their families and communities, and the ones who are just left out. For more information about BRUISED INSIDE, contact Christine T. Milliken, Exec. Dir. & Gen. Counsel, National Association of Attorneys General. (202) 326-6000, http//www.naag.org |
This program, by establishing school and community based interagency collaborative teams, will be focused on early identification and treatment of students who have potential safety risks. A referral process will be developed within the schools so that any student identified as being "at risk for harm" will be referred to the school's Risk for Harm team which will provide formal violence assessment and referral services to the student.
This school based assessment process will be working in conjunction with established community programs also aimed at addressing juvenile treatment issues. Focus will be placed on how schools and agencies can more effectively exchange "need to know" information. Through these efforts there will be increased awareness for students, teachers, and committee members of the early warning signs that may lead to a violent event and more resources will be identified to address and prevent safety risks. |
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| Juvenile crime affects
every part of our community, including our schools. Often juvenile courts order
these offenders back to school. When that occurs, someone in the school system
should know it, and keep track of their behavior and report back to the judge. The appointment of a person to serve as the liaison between the courts and the schools would enable that information to be shared between the courts and the school system and allow both to work together to effectively and consistently enforce both the court's criminal sanctions and the school rules. An application for a grant to establish such a Court/School Liaison position has been submitted to the Prosecutor's Advisory Council by Ray Larson, Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney, Margaret Kannensohn, Fayette County Attorney, and the Fayette County Public Schools. Under the grant proposal, the Court/School Liaison would:
The proposed Court/School/Liaison would increase the important information available to both the court and the schools. With this additional information the court's ability to monitor juveniles under its jurisdiction would improve. In addition, the school system could better monitor the conditions imposed on juvenile offenders, and would serve to increase attendance rates, improve student retention, and maintain a safer, less-threatening and less-violent school environment. |
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"Children's safety is first," say members of the school board. "We don't want anyone to be afraid to attend our public schools." Last year school ended with bomb scares and threats that caused widespread fear among students and parents. This year the Fayette County Public Schools are stepping up safety and security measures. Some of those measures are:
School Board Chairman Jerry Devine said that the board is taking a zero tolerance stand on threats, because students can't achieve unless there is an atmosphere of safety. |
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Youth violence is a problem that affects our schools and
communities and requires school and community solutions. Because the Fayette County
School System, through its Safe Schools Task Force, recognizes this, this committee
applied for and received a grant from the Center for School Safety in order to address
student safety before problems escalate through a "Risk for Harm" program.