Thursday, April 27, 2017

A Look Back at the Virginia Tech Tragedy



It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since the shootings at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, On April 16,2007 a lone gunman entered the campus killed 32 people and injured 17 others before committing suicide. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings by a single gunman in US history. That event coupled with a retrospective of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut as well as the tragedy at Columbine High School should give educators pause about dealing with campus security. Providing for student safety has become an important priority turning some school entranceways into airport like security zones. In a number of school districts, administrators have hired school resource officers, armed police or deputies, to patrol the buildings as well as the surrounding campuses. Last night I attended a community town hall to discuss security at religious institutions. This is all an unfortunate sign of the times. But to echo the words of the county sheriff and chief of police, we need to be proactive rather than reactive. At the risk of being redundant, “If you see something, say something.”
As many school districts are approaching the end of the academic year, it is important, even critical, to provide a comprehensive assessment of campus security procedures and make plans for the net school year.



c. 2017 J. Margolis

Thursday, April 13, 2017

A Look at H.R. 610



In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Part of that legislation provided for services for children with special needs and spelling out nutrition requirements for lunches for low- income students.  On January 23,2017 three members of the US House of Representatives introduced the “Choices in Education Act,” known as H.R.610. One of the primary tenants of this legislation is to repeal ESEA. In reviewing the bill, it has been n0ted that it does not address The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which pertains to students with special needs.
The proposed bill also contains provisions for a voucher system that apparently does not address the issues of students with disabilities. It behooves members of the education community to keep an eye on this legislation as it makes its way through congress. For those of you who wish to take an activist approach, the three sponsors of the bill are Congressman Steven King (R- Iowa) 202-225,4426, Congressman Andy Harris (R- Maryland), 202-225-5311 and Congressman Trent Franks (R- Arizona), 202-225-4576.


c. 2017 J. Margolis