# data[].attributes.headline
(Step 5) Legal and ethical issues that interest me. 

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(Step 5) Legal and ethical issues that interest me. 

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After my exploration of legal and ethical issues of education as a whole, I am most interested in exploring how the safety of our schools foster communities and how communities and education al leaders are addressing these issues.
This interest me because I am curious myself as to not only what makes teachers and students to feel safe, but the legal inquiries that all schools must incorporate in order to effectively create an environment that is welcoming yet prepared for tragedies of the outside world.
Legislators are currently working to develop a school safety bill. Although much debate has surrounded this topic heavily i believe as an educator school safety is and should be the number one priority.
Once students feel safe teachers will also be able to create an in class environment that will promote an increased amount of engagement and learning to prepare students not n only in learning but for college and life.

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Florida lawmakers are considering measures proposed after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The bill is opposed by the National Rifle Association because of limits on gun purchases and by some Democrats because it would arm teachers.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

In Florida, lawmakers are working on measures aimed at preventing another school shooting like the one that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But they've run into significant opposition. From Tallahassee, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: A week ago, 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were here at the state capitol. They came to ask lawmakers to take action to prevent another mass shooting like the one they'd just gone through. Since then, student activists have been an almost constant presence. A graduate and the school's former student body president, Barrington McFarlane, spent much of last week, he says, going to funerals. Today he was at the Capitol on a day when the legislature had been scheduled to begin debating a school safety bill.

BARRINGTON MCFARLANE: It's sad being up here because right now it feels like no one else around us understands the way the Parkland people understand.

ALLEN: Republican leaders say they were moved by the parents and the students from Parkland. They worked quickly to craft a comprehensive bill to prevent another mass shooting. But the GOP bill has run into problems. Today Florida's Senate president pulled the bill from consideration, saying it needs more work.

Among the problems it faces is opposition from one of Tallahassee's most powerful interest groups, the NRA. The group sent email alerts to its members this week urging them to pressure lawmakers to reject key provisions, including a ban on bump stocks, a three-day waiting period and raising the age to 21 for all gun purchases. Bill Nelson, the Democrat representing Florida in the U.S. Senate, was also in Tallahassee today.

BILL NELSON: The NRA that has struck fear in the hearts of our Republican brothers and sisters because they're going to come after them with a lot of money or put up candidates against them in the next primary - so that's what's going on right now.

ALLEN: Some Republican members of the state House and Senate say they agree with the NRA and oppose the limits on gun sales. Many Democrats, along with some students and parents from Parkland, also oppose the bill but for a different reason. They don't like a provision known as the school marshal plan. That would allow teachers who volunteer and who receive extensive training to carry guns in school. There's also debate over whether such a program should be optional or mandatory. Senate Minority Leader Oscar Braynon, a member of the legislature's black caucus, is one of the most outspoken opponents.

OSCAR BRAYNON: We're talking about a bill that is going to, in my opinion, put people, children in my community in harm's way. It's been proven. I can point to studies. And that is being put in this bill.

ALLEN: Despite the snags, there's a lot in the legislation that nearly everyone agrees on. The measures make some $400 million available to expand mental health services, to hire more school resource officers and to upgrade security by adding things like metal detectors and bulletproof glass in schools. It would also allow local law enforcement to temporarily seize the guns of people deemed a threat to themselves and others. Bill Galvano, the Republican who's been shepherding the bill through the Senate, says special interests like some parts of the bill and hate others. In his view, that's a sign of a good legislative compromise.

BILL GALVANO: We had a tragedy just a couple of weeks back. What we should be concerned about is not, you know, what group likes what. But can we come together, put a meaningful safety package out there and pass it that's going to save lives? And then the politics of it be damned.

ALLEN: Florida's Senate will take up the bill tomorrow in a rare Saturday session. Final votes in the Senate and House are expected before the session ends next Friday. Greg Allen, NPR News, Tallahassee.

Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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Florida Lawmakers Focusing On Legislation To Prevent School Shootings

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Florida lawmakers are considering measures proposed after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The bill is opposed by the National Rifle Association because of limits on gun purchases and by some Democrats because it would arm teachers.

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Exploration Option 3- 3 issues college leaders should be ready to address now

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Exploration Option 3- 3 issues college leaders should be ready to address now

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The academic year is well underway and it was said how campuses are already raising awareness towards topics that were often protested among the 2017-2018 school year. Some issues include freedom of speech and tuition cost that the industry and government leaders have met and discussed this past week. What was it interesting about this article is that students are voicing there beliefs, advocating change and people are listening! Government leaders, journalist and other education writers have provided other expected concerns that will be on the minds of administrators this year.

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The academic year is well underway and already campuses are grappling with many of the same issues that characterized the turbulence of 2017-18. Among them, free speech concerns, the ongoing debate over the efficacy of affirmative action admissions policies and increasing urgency around the need to manage rising tuition costs.

Industry and government leaders addressed those and other issues last week at a meeting with journalists in Las Vegas hosted by the Education Writers Association. Here's what we learned will be on the minds of administrators this academic year.

Keeping free speech free - and under control

Barbee Oakes, chief diversity officer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said most such incidents that occur on her campus aren't reportable hate crimes but rather "frequent microaggressions" that spur students to take to social media.

"The communication issue is an issue of whenever something like that happens - a crisis - how do we actually manage the crisis and then how do we communicate about [it] internally and externally," she said. For example, issuing a letter from the president in response to each instance could ultimately dilute the weight of his or her commentary over time.

Concerns over free speech have stemmed from a range of sources, including invitations to controversial speakers by campus groups (and additional fees assessed to provide security) and outcry over the presence of Confederate monuments and symbols .

"These become flashpoints in the news cycle, when they need to be put into context," said Fanta Aw, vice president of campus life at American University, in Washington, D.C. Aw said many controversial figures are brought to her campus to speak throughout the year and in most cases the events occur without incident. She noted the university requires all speakers to agree to a question and answer session.

When there is unrest, the tenor of administrators' response is critical, Oakes said, particularly given the possibility that outside groups were involved as instigators and without student consent. Administrators need to decide whether there is a credible threat and how much alarm to raise, she said.

Improving voting access for students

The upcoming midterms raise the issue of voting accessibility and the challenges facing students who hope to cast their vote from campus or their adopted community. While 62% of college students were registered to vote in the 2014 midterms, just 12% of students ages 18 to 21 actually did so, according to the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University.

College campuses tend to be liberal, which can cause friction in otherwise conservative states and regions. IDHE Director Nancy Thomas said administrators must balance the priorities of legislators who will vote on their funding with students' civic rights.

Thomas said she identified a pattern on campuses with high voting rates: "Political discourse in every nook and cranny of the institution. That is something a president and a provost can make happen. ... Students learn to talk to each other across differences in political ideology and social identity."

Making more room for mental health care

Mental health is a growing concern on campus, particularly among minority and LGBTQ students. Education Dive reported last year that while students are seeking mental health services in record numbers, two-thirds of struggling students don't take that step. Black students are less likely to do so than their white peers while being 20% more likely to experience depression, suicidal thinking and post traumatic stress disorder.

To help overcome the stigma associated with seeking help, panelists said colleges could benefit from expanding related services across campus to places students frequent as well as training staff who interact with students most often, such as faculty members and athletic department staff, to triage mental health issues.

"The majority of students will never go to their counseling center," said Nance Roy, chief clinical officer at the nonprofit Jed Foundation, adding that students typically reach out to other students for help before they go to anyone else, stressing the importance of training students to identify mental health concerns among their peers.

- was helpful to young people who had experienced a mental health issue.

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3 issues college leaders should be ready to address now

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The academic year is well underway and already campuses are grappling with many of the same issues that characterized the turbulence of 2017-18. Among them, free speech concerns, the ongoing debate over the efficacy of affirmative action admissions policies and increasing urgency around the need to manage rising tuition costs.

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Exploration Option 3- U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Atlanta Test-Cheating Case

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Exploration Option 3- U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Atlanta Test-Cheating Case

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This periodical discussed the supreme court declined to hear an appeal int he test cheating case. Two women among other educators were found guilty of false statements and writings due to suspicious scores on standardized test. Investigators came across further evidence of widespread cheating among Atlanta publics schools.

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The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal by two former educators convicted more than three years ago in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating case.

In 2015, a Fulton County jury found Tamara Cotman, who worked for APS as a school reform team executive director, and Angela Williamson, a former Dobbs Elementary teacher, guilty of racketeering in a districtwide conspiracy in which educators corrected student answers on standardized tests and collected bonuses and raises based on the falsely inflated scores.

Williamson also was found guilty of four counts of false statements and writings and false swearing in the long-running case.

The two women were among 11 former educators convicted of racketeering and the only two who went directly to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which last year upheld their convictions.

In April, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied their petition to appeal that decision, and so Cotman and Williamson then turned to the nation's highest court.

But the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition today without comment, which is how the court disposes of many cases brought before it.

In the U.S. Supreme Court petition submitted in July, the defendants' attorneys argued the jury received improper instructions before returning the verdict and brought up a question of double jeopardy, which bars a defendant acquitted of a crime from being retried for the same offense.

In a trial connected to the cheating scandal that took place before the major one involving multiple defendants, Cotman was found not guilty of trying to influence a witness; her attorney argued the prosecution presented the same witnesses and "repeated the same theory presented in the first trial," according to court documents.

Cotman was sentenced to three years in prison and Williamson to two years. They, and several others who were convicted and are seeking a new trial in Fulton County Superior Court, have remained free on bond pending the outcome of the various appeals.

It was not immediately clear what will happen next for Cotman and Williamson.

Prosecutors said Cotman failed to report cheating complaints and punished those who reported concerns. At trial, a former APS reading specialist said she was transferred against her wishes to another school because her students weren't making enough progress. She testified that Cotman told her the transfer was because she "wasn't playing for the right team."

Teachers at Dobbs Elementary testified Williamson taught them to cheat and said they saw her cheating. Several students also said the former teacher gave them exam answers but said they didn't report her because she told them: "If you tell anyone, that will be the last person you tell, I promise you that," according to court documents.

The cheating scandal came to light after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a decade ago about suspicious scores on state standardized tests.

An ensuing state investigation found evidence of widespread cheating in Atlanta schools.

The original indictment brought charges against 35 educators, 21 of whom pleaded guilty to lesser charges. All but one of the 12 who went to trial were found guilty. Two people, including former Atlanta superintendent Beverly Hall, died before going to trial.

Related Video
In one of the nation's largest cheating scandals, nearly 200 Atlanta educators were suspected of erasing and correcting student answers on standardized tests in order to boost scores. Reporter Lisa Stark spoke with those affected by the scandal, including an educator, a judge, a district attorney, and students:
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Vanessa McCray, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Atlanta Test-Cheating Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal by two former educators convicted more than three years ago in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating case.

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Exploration Option 2- Fostering Safer Schools: A Legal Guide for School Board Memberson School Safety (National School Boards Association) 

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Exploration Option 2- Fostering Safer Schools: A Legal Guide for School Board Memberson School Safety (National School Boards Association) 

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As I research through the website I came across an interesting article that discusses a topic that has been circling education heavily over the past years. The emergencies and mass tragedies that have occurred in public schools around the United States has increased tremendously and leaves communities questioning what could have been done to avoid the unspeakable. From student discipline, to information sharing, to law enforcement, to mental health
services, insurance, facilities issues and beyond, the areas to address in policy are many. This guide is intended
as a first step towards helping school board members navigate the increasingly complex world of emergency
preparedness and response to instances of school safety and mass violence

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Exploration Option 2-The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know (ASCD)

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Exploration Option 2-The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know (ASCD)

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In reviewing the ASCD website I discovered a book that discussed how the internet has been a useful too yet challenging to our students and educators today. Teachers are able to print, save and download lesson plans as easy as students can access and use social media whenever they please. But with technological innovation come legal pitfalls, where issues such as free expression, privacy, and copyright take on a whole new dimension. The following aspects of the book discuss how public schools face legal issues following the web, e-mail and other computer technologies. The legal issues are discussed further to help teachers handle these issues.

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The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know
Kathleen Conn
About the Author | Comments

About This Book

With its easily obtainable wealth of information, the Internet has proven to be both a boon and a challenge for today's public schools. Teachers can download lesson plans and participate in online professional development courses; students can access new research and chat with other students around the world. But with technological innovation come legal pitfalls, where issues such as free expression, privacy, and copyright take on a whole new dimension.

The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know provides a clear and in-depth discussion of the key legal issues public schools face in using the Web, e-mail, and other computer technologies. As an educator and an attorney, Kathleen Conn brings a unique and informed perspective to this changing arena, succinctly identifying and examining major risks for schools and the specific case law that shapes these issues, including:

First Amendment protection for teachers and students,

Filtering and blocking technology for obscene material,

Use of students' personal information and education records,

Downloading and storing of copyrighted material,

Fair use,

Defamation in Internet communications, and

E-mail harassment.

To help educators handle these issues, Conn offers sound advice in developing policies that comply with the law while safeguarding the school or district. As the use of technology in schools continues to evolve, teachers, administrators, and school staff must stay aware of the law that governs it. The Internet and the Law provides the solid legal grounding that every educator needs.

See the book's table of contents and read excerpts.

Book Details

Are You a Member?

Aboutthe Author

KATHLEEN CONN is an educator and public school administrator as well as a lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Conn earned her Ph.D. in Physics/Biology at Bryn Mawr College, studying molecular dynamics with pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. She completed postdoctoral work in the cell biology of cancer metastasis at Lankenau Medical Research Center in Philadelphia.
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ASCD Book: The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know

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The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know Kathleen Conn About the Author | Comments About This Book With its easily obtainable wealth of information, the Internet has proven to be both a boon and a challenge for today's public schools.

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Upon completion of a Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction I hope to be employed as a curriculum designer or an instructional coach. Within the next years my goal is to become a master teacher to establish a foundation of solid teaching experience. Once I feel that i have mastered the craft of teaching, I would like to pursue my dream as a curriculum designer or instructional coach for the ELA department at IDEA Public schools.