School Board News

Oh, those state lawmakers are at it again reminding BoardBuzz of a Will Rogers insight: “Politicians are doing the best they can according to the dictates of no conscience.”

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the South Carolina House will consider a bill this week to allow concealed weapons on campus. If this had been the case at Virginia Tech, reasoned the bill’s sponsor Rep. Jeff Duncan, a massacre of that magnitude would not have taken place. He apparently has a friend in Newt Gingrich as BoardBuzz recently reported here.

The Charleston Post and Courier reports that:

Nearly 20 lawmakers have signed on to a measure that would allow concealed weapons on public school and college campuses. If signed in to law, South Carolina would join Utah as the only states that have laws allowing people to carry hidden weapons on campuses.

Nationwide, 38 states, including Virginia and South Carolina, ban weapons at schools. Of those, 16 explicitly prohibit weapons on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The measure faces some formidable opposition including U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales, the American Association of University Professors, and the South Carolina School Boards Association, whose executive director Paul Krohne commented, “It is disconcerting that we are considering a proposal that would open the flood gates for more weapons in school – even lawful ones.”

BoardBuzz is agog. Yes, you heard it, agog. How else can we react to Newt Gingrich’s remark promoting more guns on campus? In the wake of increasing incidents of gun violence at schools across the country from Columbine to Red Lake to Virginia Tech, it is amazing that some people insist guns belong on campus and apparently in the classroom. The United Kingdom’s online newspaper Guardian Unlimited (yes, this one was heard the world over, folks) quotes our former House Speaker as saying, “In states where people have been allowed to have concealed weapons, in Mississippi and Kentucky, there have been incidents of this kind of a killer who was stopped because in fact, people who are law-abiding, people who are rational and people who are responsible had the ability to stop them.” And, he said it on national TV! Right on This Week with George Stephanopoulos!

And Gingrich isn’t the first to espouse vigilante justice. Back in March, BoardBuzz got wind of this story of Nevada State Senator Bob Beers’ proposed legislation that would put guns in the hands of “trained teachers” in order to prevent violence at schools. Yeah, that’ll work.

And, so, BoardBuzz wonders how anyone can still believe that the availability of more guns, especially on school campuses anywhere, decreases rather than increases violence involving those very implements. Espousing the kind of vigilantism that Mr. Gingrich seems to be suggesting is contrary to the very notion of a civilized society in which the public square (or school campus) is secured by the rule of law and our value in civil order rather than the holsters on our hips.

BoardBuzz can’t seem to get enough of cell phones lately (here and here). In the ongoing debate over where cell phones are allowed and where they aren’t allowed, another group has stepped into the fray. The American School Bus Council is expected to announce new guidelines today that will ban cell phones for school bus drivers “when the bus is moving or when students are getting on or off.”

The organization is urging school districts to enact the ban, citing the research that indicates cell phone use causes drivers to lose focus.

“We don’t want those distractions to be part of the school bus driver’s environment,” the group’s co-director, Pete Japikse, said.

Japikse said the group also will urge state lawmakers to take action. There are at least a dozen states with laws or regulations prohibiting school bus drivers from talking on the phone.

The council includes public and private transportation providers, school bus manufacturers and state officials responsible for pupil transportation.

The measure follows a similar one by the National Transportation Safety Board, and is being applauded by the National PTA. About 25 million students in the United States ride the school bus each day, according to the American School Bus Council.

The continuing debate over cell phones in schools, well, continued this week with an article in USA Today. The piece focuses on Milwaukee‘s ban on cell phones, which begins Monday and will affect the 222 public schools there.

The ban was prompted by “fights that escalated into brawls when students used cellphones to summon family members and outsiders.” Under the new policy, if a student uses a cell phone, it will be confiscated.

Many states banned electronic devices in schools more than a decade ago when pagers and portable music players became popular, says Tom Hutton, a lawyer with the National School Boards Association. The laws were aimed at pagers, then a tool for drug dealers.

And Milwaukee isn’t the only place where bans have taken hold. The article notes that Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School in Glyndon, Minn.; public schools in Biloxi, Miss.; New York City public schools; and Deep Springs Elementary School in Lexington, Ky. all have some form of a ban in place. In fact, “Eight parents and a parents’ group are suing New York City public schools, which last year began enforcing a ban. Their lawyer, Norman Siegel, says the parents don’t believe phones should be used in school. ‘The issue,’ he says, ‘is the right of the parents to provide safety to and from school.’” It’s definitely a sticky issue (which BoardBuzz has covered here, here and here), that pits schools’ need for a learning environment free from outside disruptions against parents’ belief that students need for the phones in case of emergencies.

Chances are we won’t be hearing the last of this subject. What do you think about cell phone bans? Leave a comment and let us know.

In the hairbrained idea department, BoardBuzz caught wind of this little tidbit which has garnered some media attention in the wake of the recent school shootings. As it turns out, Republican Rep. Frank Lasee of Wisconsin wants school staff to carry guns.

Lasee cites other countries, including Israel and Thailand, as using guns effectively to deter school violence. “To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table,” he said. “Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in Wisconsin.”

The director of school safety for Milwaukee Public Schools, Pete Pochowski, opposed the idea. “Statistically, the safest place for a child to be is in school,” Pochowski said. “We have problems in our schools, but not to the point where we need to arm our teachers and principals.”

The three school shootings in the past week have educators, students, and school officials on edge and wondering what can be done to curb violence and deal with the tragedies. Both the New York Times and USA Today have articles that don’t merely cover the tragic events, but also analyze security and student fears. And this morning the Bush administration announced that it would hold a conference to address school violence.

The New York Times article examines schools’ efforts to re-examine and tighten security in the wake of the attacks in Wisconsin, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The article notes, “Some school administrators and security experts said that they were worried about a new pattern of violence for which schools were not well prepared— outside adults with grudges or suicidal urges entering schools — and that news coverage could inspire more crimes,” and goes on to say, “Psychological training and increased security that many schools instituted after the killing of 13 people in 1999 at Columbine High School in Colorado have given teachers and principals new tools and insights to spot potential trouble, the experts said. News organizations, some scholars say, have recently given somewhat less prominence to school violence as it has become less novel, a trend that could also reduce the likelihood of mimic attacks.”

USA Today examines how the shootings may affect students emotionally. “School safety experts say that the first order of business in classrooms across the nation today should be to take the psychological pulse of children.” The article points out that even students not directly involved in the tragedy may be affected and that the stress and fear of the shootings might “stir up a memory from a child’s past.” However, the article stops short of suggestions for educators or parents for dealing with these stresses.

CNN.com is reporting that, “The Bush administration, alarmed by recent attacks at public schools across the country, is bringing education and law enforcement experts together for a conference on coming to grips with the problem.” Which BoardBuzz finds interesting, because yesterday the AP reported that federal funding for a grant program aimed at preventing school violence and substance abuse have been dropping since 2001, and the administration has gone so far as to recommend cutting the program altogether. The article does note that “The Office of Management and Budget rated the program as ineffective several years ago. Evidence did not show the program was changing students’ behavior to reduce violence and substance abuse.”

Bush’s proposed conference will aim to “discuss the nature of the problem and federal action that can help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath.” It will include representatives from PTA, education, and law enforcement groups.