The National School Boards Association (NSBA) is challenging the federal Education Department’s “expansive reading of the law” in which the Department redefines bullying as potential federal civil rights violations. The Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a 10-page “Dear Colleagues Letter” (DCL) to the nation’s schools on October 26th in which the Department redefined discipline […]
Study: No Link Between Large High Schools & Bullying Victimization
An illusion. That’s how a University of Virginia study describes the perceived link between large high schools and higher student victimization of bullying. A November 2010 Journal of Educational Psychology article entitled, “Is the link between large high schools and student victimization an illusion?,” reports the rate of bullying offenses was actually lower in larger schools. Similar […]
Cell Phones, Texting, School Safety, and Discipline
There is no constitutional right for students to have cell phones in schools. This is one of several points I made in an interview for a Fox News Channel national story earlier this week entitled, “Zero Tolerance for Classroom Texters.” The peg for the story is a Benicia High School (California) policy where school administrators […]
Lag in Wisconsin school hostage response raises questions
How does a student hold two dozen people hostage in a high school classroom with knives, two guns, and more than 200 rounds of ammo for about two hours without someone noticing? Students and others asked similar questions after a student took 23 students and his teacher hostage in Marinette, Wisconsin, last week. Hostages were released, […]
Armed Student Shoots Self After Taking 24 Hostages in Classroom
A Marinette, Wisconsin, student took 23 students and a teacher hostage in a high school classroom, later releasing them and shooting himself on Monday evening. Teaching Kids to Fight Armed Intruders? Interestingly, the week prior to Thanksgiving I received a call from school crisis team members from one of the nation’s largest school districts. They […]
Congress, The Nation’s Biggest Bullies: Fix Your Own Incivility
“Search for civility grows in Washington after midterms,” a recent U.S.A. Today headline reads. On the surface, the article appropriately details the polarized, hostile, and personally-attacking nature of today’s D.C. politics. But having testified four times to Congress on school safety, and getting a closer view of the behind-the-scenes nature of American politics, I particularly […]
Teen Arrested in Terror Car Bomb Plot: School Implications
The FBI thwarted an alleged attempted terrorist car bombing by a 19-year-old Somalia-born U.S. citizen who the feds say attempted to detonate a car bomb at a Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony Friday night. The male was arrested by the FBI, who had been monitoring him for months in an undercover operation. The 19-year-old reportedly […]
Thanksgiving Wishes for Those Who Keep Us Safe
Happy Thanksgiving! My thoughts and prayers go out to my faith, family, and friends who together keep me and my family safe and sound. A special thanks is offered to our men and women in the military, to our first responders, and to our many other professionals who dedicate their skills, energy, and time to […]
Fiscal Commission: Cut Fed Safe & Drug Free Schools Office
The Federal Deficit Commission is recommending elimination of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools, saving the federal government $1.8 billion dollars. Recommendation 16 on page 7 of the Commission’s preliminary report recommends: “16. Eliminate the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools. In the President’s budget, funding for the […]
Terror Cargo Bombs, Anthrax Scares, & School Mail Handling Security
An envelope containing white powder and marked with “anthrax” and “Al Qaeda” arrives in your school’s main office mail. Would your office staff know what to do? The recent cargo planes with bombs mailed by terrorists, as a part of an international terror plot, quickly brought school mailing handling procedures to mind. Add to that the anthrax scares experienced in […]