CNN — New York, home of the nation’s largest school district, is banning realistic active shooter drills, following years of activism by parents and lawmakers who say the drills traumatize children, normalize violence and do little to prepare students for the unlikely possibility of a school shooting. New rules outlined and approved unanimously by the New York State Board of Regents this month will require schools to use “trauma informed” and “age appropriate” methods in drills and bans the use of any actors, props, or tactics depicting violence when school is in session. The change follows a multiyear effort by parents, advocates and lawmakers to make school drills less traumatic for students, as well as an effort to balance parents’ need to feel like their children will be prepared to respond if exposed to America’s ongoing epidemic of gun violence.
St. Louis police release body camera, security video from 2022 CVPA shooting
Newly released videos show the timeline of events as they occurred during the Oct. 24, 2022, school shooting.
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday released two videos related to the CVPA school shooting. The first video, which is 8 minutes and 53 seconds long, shows security video from inside and outside the school, showing the timeline of events as they occurred on Oct. 24, 2022. The security video does not have audio. The shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School left 15-year-old student Alexzandria Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka dead. Police killed the shooter, 19-year-old Orlando Harris, a former student. St. Louis police said the responding officers, students, and family members of the victims and suspect were given the chance to watch the videos before they were released. Officials said the footage was retraumatizing for those who chose to view them. The police department and school district said they have provided mental health support for those groups.
— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of a case bought by parents of student who “was repeatedly sexually abused by a teacher while attending an elementary school.” The parents alleged that the school, “negligently failed to prevent the abuse.” The lower court dismissed the claim of the parents, holding that the school “did not have actual or constructive notice of the teacher's alleged propensity to engage in sexual abuse or of the abuse that the teacher allegedly perpetrated.” The appellate court reversed, sending the case on to a jury for trial. The standard for determining liability is whether the school knew or should have known of the employee's propensity for the conduct which caused the injury…(and whether) the school's supervision and protection (is comparable) to that of a parent of ordinary prudence placed in the same situation and armed with the same information.” The appellate court ruled that a jury must sort out these issues, particularly “given the frequency of the alleged abuse, which occurred over the entirety of a school year, and always occurred inside the same classroom during the school day.” At trial, the school will be given the opportunity to “demonstrate, prima facie, that their supervision of both the teacher and the (student) was not negligent.” Sayegh v. City of Yonkers
— In Texas, the “former school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of failing to take action as a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom. The officer “responded to the scene but then waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school.”
— In Oregon, a member of the Medford School Board is concerned that on the issue of campus safety “there’s a breakdown of trust in our community.” Specifically, the board member believes that, “the district could do more to better track troublesome students and to take prevention more seriously.” Data show that recently, “four firearms have been found at MSD” campuses.
— In Alabama, officials in Marshall County are attributing an 86 percent decrease in vape confiscation to a district-wide policy. Under the policy, students “caught with vapes automatically get 10 days of in-school suspension and a summons to juvenile court among other punishments depending on the number of offenses.” Officials believe that, “students are taking note of these punishments and perhaps maybe quitting the habit altogether.”
On this week's podcast, Officer Galloway goes into great detail on store clerks who are now opening up packages of vapes for consumers to sample. Smoke shops have such a surplus of vapes that they are sold at such low, enticing prices. How can addiction be reduced when vape production is increasing? Also, check out my Vaping 101 and Vaping 202 episodes to find out more.
Registration Now Open: 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security
You are invited to join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on September 25 and 26 for the 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security. This virtual event brings together K-12 school leaders and practitioners to discuss and share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments.
Registration is now open for the 2024 Summit. This year’s event will feature panel discussions, sessions and keynote speakers covering topics such as violence prevention, emergency planning, youth online safety, student mental wellness, K-12 cybersecurity and student interventions and support. These sessions are designed to foster a nationwide dialogue on some of the most critical school safety issues, as well as equip school stakeholders and personnel with resources, training and best practices to apply in their local K-12 communities.
EVENT DETAILS Dates: Sept. 25-26, 2024 Time: 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT each day Location: Held virtually via Microsoft Teams Registration: Registration is required and there is no cost to attend.
MGT-412: SPORT AND SPECIAL EVENT EVACUATION AND PROTECTIVE ACTIONS
Aug. 20-21, 2024, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, Magnolia, De. 19962
The Sport and Special Event Evacuation and Protective Actions course helps sport and special event managers prepare and/or enhance their event action plan through incorporation of flexible and scalable protective measures. These measures can be used in isolation or in response to a larger, multi-agency response initiative. This innovative course helps venue operators, first responders, emergency managers, law enforcement, contractors, promoters and owners of events to collaborate on evacuation and sheltering plans with actionable decision criteria that can be adapted for almost any event.
Date: Aug 20-21, 2024, 8:00am-5:00pm
Location: Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, Magnolia, DE 19962
Join The I Love U Guys Foundation at their upcoming Briefings Symposium on Sept. 5-6, 2024, in San Mateo, CA. This symposium goes beyond a typical conference; it's an immersive learning experience that brings together individuals from across the country who are passionate about keeping their schools and communities safe.
Don't miss two days of inspiring keynotes, training on the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Standard Reunification Method (SRM), and ample opportunities for networking with foundation staff and peers in the school and community safety space. This is an amazing chance to gain actionable insights into enhancing the safety of your organization and those in it.
