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Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of bullying, fighting and other misbehavior
Florida updated its school safety dashboard in April 2024, and it is now one of the most comprehensive in the nation. School districts and educators can see their school safety data in relation to other schools and districts – and how such data relates to standardized test scores, community violence and other indicators. These dashboards do not have all the answers, but they can help parents and school leaders know what questions to ask and where to find resources to make schools safer, fairer and more conducive to learning.
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Is the National Guard a solution to school violence?
Every now and then, an elected official will suggest bringing in the National Guard to deal with violence that seems out of control.. A review of how the National Guard has been deployed to schools in the past shows the guard can provide service to schools in cases of exceptional need. Yet, doing so does not always end well.
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Educators say student misconduct has increased − but progressive reforms or harsher punishments alone won’t fix the problem
As a policy researcher who studies school safety and discipline, I have seen two camps form with polarized and politicized views on school discipline. On the one side are those who seek more restorative responses to misconduct that emphasize building relationships with students and discipline policies that keep kids in school. On the other are calls for greater use of exclusionary and punitive practices like suspension. In my view, making schools safe requires school leaders not to get caught up in this either/or debate. Instead, I believe it requires recognizing a shared goal of safe schools and the need for a comprehensive approach to achieving it.
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School policing may be problematic, but so are the alternatives
Recently, the Gainesville City Commission announced plans to end city funding of school police, shifting the entire cost to the school district. The decision follows similar moves in a number of cities nationwide following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Scaling back school police comes as an abrupt shift from decades of increasing police presence in schools. As of 2015, the latest year for which national data is available, almost half of all public schools nationwide had police present. Florida schools have been above the national average, with around three quarters of public schools reporting school police in 2018-19.
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Re-opened schools may look different, and that could be good
The global pandemic ended the school year early for schools in Florida and much of the nation. Already, many are asking what schools will look like should they re-open in fall for the start of the next school year. It is, of course, too early to tell. But, many have suggested that classes could be limited to less than twelve students, that students may only be able to attend part-time, that physical attendance might be optional, that students might wear face masks all day and be restricted from close interaction with peers, and that hand washing and other disinfecting will be ubiquitous.
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SRO’s Threats to Shoot Student Highlight Dangers of Police in Schools
Recently, video emerged of an altercation between a New Port Richey high school student and his school resource officer (SRO). The video, which has spread rapidly online and received national news coverage, shows the student attempting to leave campus in a car while being blocked by the SRO and a school employee. The student is apparently attempting to leave campus to attend a dental appointment, for which his parent reports previously notifying the school. As the student attempts to maneuver his car around the SRO, the SRO threatens twice to shoot the student.
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Civics Education Should Reflect Diversity of Students
At the end of January, Governor DeSantis announced that the Department of Education had completed its review of the K-12 academic standards and made recommendations for revisions. This is the latest in what has been a year long process moving towards the adoption of the new B.E.S.T. standards, a replacement for the Common Core-based Florida Standards. While the standards, as before, focus predominantly on mathematics and reading, a unique component is an emphasis on embedded civics instruction throughout the K-12 years.
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School resource officers aren’t arrested often – but when they are, it’s usually for sexual misconduct
The presence of law enforcement in schools – better known as school resource officers – has become increasingly common. These officers, who have full law enforcement powers, are supposed to keep students safe. Earlier this year, however, a former Michigan school resource officer – Matthew Priebe – was convicted and sentenced to one year in jail for doing just the opposite.
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Arrests of 6-year-olds shows the perils of putting police in primary schools
When states like Florida pass laws to put more police officers in schools, the idea is to keep kids safe. But as the arrest of two six-year-olds in a Florida school in October has shown, sometimes one threat to the students is the officers themselves.
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No, We Are Not Facing a Crisis in School Safety
With a recent report of a potential school shooter in Colorado preceding the two-decade anniversary of the Columbine shooting, public attention is again focused on school safety. After several high-profile school shootings last year, including those at Parkland, FL and Santa Fe, TX, it is easy to believe the narrative that schools face a safety crisis. Indeed, recent data suggest that most Americans see schools as less safe today than two decades ago.