School Safety Legislation / Legal Matters
Insider Truth About Student Discipline Abeyance Agreements | THE SAFETY DOC PODCAST #112 with David P. Perrodin, PhD [Podcast]
[Podcast] “STUDENT will give his best effort in all of his subjects every day.” That subjective condition-statement was extracted from a school district’s boilerplate one-page abeyance agreement. It’s codified by the district’s school board policy. With suspensions racing to extinction, this is in the new embodiment of student discipline and it’s not just a second chance to…
Read MoreSAFETY DOC PODCAST #111 | Interview with Max Eden | Education Policy Expert and Coauthor of Why Meadow Died [Podcast]
PODCAST: In this episode of The Safety Doc Podcast, I talk with the co-author of Why Meadow Died: The People and Policies That Created The Parkland Shooter and Endanger America’s Students. He discusses student discipline reform, student disability policies, abeyance agreements, and pressures on institutions to ‘look as though they have no problems,’ and more…
Read MoreAnn Marie Cotman Interview – How Zero-tolerance Discipline Policies Undermine School Safety | SAFETY DOC PODCAST #110 [Podcast]
[Podcast] In 2013, A 7-year-old Maryland kid chewed his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun at school and wound up with two days suspension. The pastry in question was not named, but it’s gotta be a Pop-Tart, right? This dubious outcome, and others like it, are often the result of what is known…
Read MoreTragic Truth About Bahamas Hurricane Devastation with Katie Pechon and German Parodi [PODCAST]
[Podcast] As Bahamian officials continue to sort through the widespread destruction left by Hurricane Dorian, confusion and uncertainty has been rampant during much of the initial recovery process. Guests Katie Pechon, German Parodi and Shaylin Sluzalis bring awareness and urgency to the untold stories of the Bahamas and the oft-overlooked impact disasters have on persons…
Read More[Podcast] SAFETY DOC PODCAST #103 | Who is in Charge of School Safety?
[Podcast] School safety is the default responsibility of individual schools. Surprisingly, there are no federal laws mandating school safety plans of school-based mental health services. Some, and not all, states require school safety plans. Individual school districts safety plans are inconsistent and with site-based management, most schools apply discretion to make safety policies fit the…
Read MoreCustomer Perceived Value – Putting a Price on Safe Schools | SAFETY DOC PODCAST #101 with David Perrodin, PhD [Podcast]
[Podcast] You can’t put a price tag on keeping schools safe – or can you? The $3 billion school safety industry is on a nonstop trajectory for both number of bills proposed and bills enacted to legislate, and sometimes fund, a staggering array of new mandates and unchecked block grants for school safety. DIRECT LINK…
Read MoreWhat Common Rule Means for School Safety Drills | SAFETY DOC PODCAST #99 with Dr. David Perrodin [Podcast]
[Podcast] As of May, 2019, only 43 of 50 states require schools to have safety plans and conduct safety drills (Education Commission of the States, 2019). When states mandate schools to have safety plans and conduct safety drills, it is the individual schools left to determine how they will design said plans and drills. In…
Read MoreWhy May Should Not Be Food Allergy Month | SAFETY DOC PODCAST #96 | Dr. David Perrodin, PhD [Podcast]
[Podcast] Why is May designated as Food Allergy Awareness Month? Dr. Perrodin points out the merits of awareness activities centered to food and other allergies – some with potentially life-threatening consequences. However, he identifies the irrationality of devoting the month of May to allergy awareness primarily as it is at the very end of the…
Read MoreThe Perilous Practice of Exempting Disabled Students from Safety Drills | Attorney James Sibley | SAFETY DOC PODCAST #95
[PODCAST] Attorney James Sibley is a potent advocate for special needs students and their families fighting for fair treatment. In this episode of the Safety Doc Podcast, Attorney Sibley and host David Perrodin discuss the sprawling practice of limiting or exempting students with disabilities from school safety instruction, drills and access to threat reporting systems.…
Read MoreSAFETY DOC PODCAST #93 | Why the Sidelines of School Safety Are a Tragic Act of Kindness | Dr. David Perrodin, PhD
[PODCAST] Schools are exempting students with disabilities from participating in safety instruction and safety drills. These misplaced pardons are enabled via an incorrect application of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process or a district-generated parent “opt-out” form. First, let’s be clear that it is illegal to exempt students from mandated fire drills. However, the practice…
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