New info on glass door and window security, School Law Updates, and trainings.
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May 15, 2024

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Center for Safe Schools, from the desk of Joey Melvin, Director
National Trauma Awareness Month Go-Kit and Trauma Packs Giveaway! In recognition of National Trauma Awareness Month, the Center for Safe Schools has partnered with Edu-Care Services and will randomly select winners of three Trauma Packs and one Go-Kit!
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Recent School Safety News 

Glass Window and Door Security: A Growing Concern for Campus Protection Pros


More than one in two campus protection professionals now say their glass doors and windows are the security systems most likely to fail during an unauthorized intrusion.

    glass with broken shard missing

    By Robin Hattersley, May 9, 2024  


    Glass doors and windows are a growing security concern for K-12 schools, school districts, institutions of higher education, and healthcare facilities, according to the 2024 Campus Safety Glass Security and Safety Survey.


    More than half (51%) of this year’s nearly 300 survey respondents believe their glass doors and windows are the perimeter security systems that would most likely fail and allow an intruder to gain unauthorized access to their campus. That’s eight percentage points more than two years ago when Campus Safety conducted its previous survey on this topic.

    Read full report.

    2 juveniles arrested after AI possibly used to create sexually explicit photos of students, staff at Richmond High School


    By Sam Borcia, April 28, 2024, 8:57 p.m.

    Richmond Burton Community High School District 157

    Two juveniles have been charged after sexually explicit images of students and staff members at Richmond High School were created, possibly using artificial intelligence, and then distributed.


    Richmond-Burton Community High School Principal Mike Baird sent a letter to parents last month about an incident that the district was made aware of on March 11.

    Read Local Richmond article.

    Student arrested in connection to death of 15-year-old girl who passed out at Dunwoody High School

    By WSBTV.com News Staff

    An arrest has been made in connection with a 15-year-old girl who died after a medical emergency at Dunwoody High School on Monday.


    On Monday evening, Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with Pamela Dieguez via Zoom who confirmed that her sister, Mia, 15, was rushed to a hospital after suffering a medical emergency during the school day.


    “They (school officials) told me that she went to the restroom and when she came back to the classroom, she put her head on her desk and the next thing they knew she was on the floor,” Dieguez said.


    Dieguez explained to Channel 2 Action News that she recently learned that her sister had been buying Percocet from an unidentified classmate.

    Read Newsbreak article.

    School Panic Alarms May Come to Pennsylvania
    by Center Square  

    Tuesday, May 14, 2024

    teens in a classroom with male teacher in front of white board

    Silent panic alarms may become the next line of defense for schools in Pennsylvania.


    A bipartisan plan introduced in the Senate on Monday would mandate installing devices in buildings to speed up law enforcement response during an emergency. Five other states have implemented similar legislation, dubbed “Alyssa’s Law.”


    The bill is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, one of 17 victims of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018.

    Read local article.

    School Law News

    In Illinois, the Appellate Court of Illinois, upheld the adjudication of a student for “driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs, namely cannabis” in violation of state law. The student was found with a “skinny, white, rolled” object in his wallet that he told school officials was a “marijuana cigarette” after a search by an administrator after performing poorly in the road test in his drivers’ education class. Prior to the search, the administrator, nurse, another administrator and the teacher, who first reported the concerning behavior of the student, collaborated. An assessment was made, and a decision was reached to conduct the search of the student, followed by a report to the campus school resource officer. The SRO conducted a field sobriety test, which the student failed. The appellate court upheld the assessment process and the sufficiency of the evidence, ruling that, “the totality of the evidence was sufficient to prove (the student) guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. First, as acknowledged by (the student) on appeal, (the student) admitted to (the administrator) that he smoked marijuana the night before and was still feeling its effects…(The student’s) admission to being under the influence was corroborated by accounts of defendant's physical condition from individuals with varying degrees of experience dealing with people under the influence of cannabis.”  Village of Lincolnshire v. Olvera

     

    In North Carolina, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office is building rapport with students through sports. Its officers “schedule and run all of the basketball games” between officers – with school staff – against high school and middle school students.  The outreach program is in its third year.

     

    In West Virginia, officials in Roanoke are utilizing artificial intelligence devices to enhance campus safety.  Weapons detection systems using AI “combine powerful sensor technology with proven artificial intelligence (AI), security ecosystem integrations, and comprehensive venue analytics to ensure safer, more accurate threat detection at an unprecedented speed and volume.” The system “can screen up to 3,600 people per hour, providing faster threat detection compared to metal detectors.”

     

    In Colorado, Denver officials are continuing to investigate the failure of a school administrator to collaborate after a kidnapping attempt of an elementary student. The administrator was fired after delaying for one hour the reporting of the incident to other agencies as required by policy. The delay prevented school personnel from keeping students indoors because “teachers were not instructed to do so until about a full hour after the intrusion….(such that) students were taken outside for recess while the suspect remained at large.” The administrator had refused to follow school policy “on more than one occasion."

     

    Source-Dr. Bernie James                                                                                  schoolsafetylawblog.com

    Podcast

    The Learning Lab School Safety Podcast

    Staying Safe Curriculum: A Year In Review

     

    In this Learning Lab episode, Brian Clason sits down with Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools, to reflect on the past year and a half, in which Safe and Sound Schools modified the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course for age-appropriate delivery to Texas K-12 students. Once modifications were complete, Safe and Sound Schools and Texas School Safety Center staff delivered the in-person training to interested districts statewide. CRASE was developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT), located at Texas State University and is a crucial safety partner to the Texas School Safety Center and Safe and Sound Schools.

    Listen to the podcast.

    Training Opportunities

    NASRO CTPED Course, June 10-12, 2024, Gettysburg, PA

    School CPTED

    June 10 - 12 | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

    CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) uses design, management, and activity strategies to reduce opportunities for crime to occur, reduce fear, and improve the overall safety of schools. The CPTED concept emphasizes the relationship between the physical environment, the productive use of space, and the behavior of people. Upon completion of this 24-hour course, successful completion of a written test is required to obtain a course certificate.  The course will include a hands-on CPTED evaluation of a school, and attendees will be provided with tools to use on their school campuses or in their associated activities with school safety.


    Cost: $400 per person for NASRO members / $450 per person for non-NASRO members

    Register for NASRO CPTED.

    The United States Secret Service

    School Safety Seminar
     in New Jersey
    Rutger's University-New Brunswick
    June 6, 2024


    The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and Newark Field Office are hosting a free, in-person School Safety Seminar on Thursday, June 6, 2024, at the Jersey Mike's Arena of Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

    This seminar will provide an opportunity to hear from expert speakers and local stakeholders on best practices for behavioral threat assessment and preventing targeted school violence. Parking is free, and morning refreshments will be provided.

     

    When: Thursday, June 6, 2024 | 9:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. (doors open at 8:00 a.m.)

    Where: Jersey Mike's Arena, 83 Rockafeller Rd., Piscataway, NJ 08854

    Register for School Safety Seminar

    2024 National School Safety Conference, July 14-19, Phoenix, Registernow

    Resources

    Center for Safe Schools updated Model Door and Window Classroom Numbering System Guide

    The establishment of an external door and window numbering system can be extremely valuable to emergency responders and will also assist your students and staff in acclimating themselves to door locations in case of an emergency. Request a free copy of our updated Model Door and Window Classroom Numbering System Guide.

    Request the Model Door and Window Numbering System guide.

    Director's Book Suggestion

    The Unthinkable Who survives when disaster strikes and why

    Today, nine out of 10 Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims?


    In her quest to answer these questions, award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley traces human responses to some of recent history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917 – one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb – to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. To understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts. She even has her own brain examined by military researchers and experiences, through realistic simulations, what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.

    Buy "Unthinkable" on Amazon.

    Thank you,

    Joey Melvin

    Director

    Center for Safe Schools

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