4. School Bus Incidents Make News

Bus Incidents include:

• Johnson County, IN A bus driver is caught on tape slapping a passenger who is a special needs student.

• Torrence, CA A 9-year old student brought a gun on his school bus. I showing it off, the gun discharged striking another student. The injuries were not life threatening.

• Temple Hills, MD A fight broke out on a bus carrying students home. When the driver pulled over, several students fled the bus and one of them started shooting at the bus. The bus was hit but none of the students onboard.

• Philadelphia, PA The bus driver was distracted by a fight that broke out on the bus causing the bus to go out of control. One adult and two students were taken the hospital for minor injuries.

• Fort Morgan, CO The bus driver thought one of the Kindergarteners on her bus had popped a balloon. When she returned to the bus garage, she found a bullet hole in the back door and through two seats. None of the kids were injured. A 19  year-old has been arrested.

• Streator, IL A bus carrying 15 members of the high school girls basketball team was struck head-on by a truck. The truck driver died of injuries sustained; the girls were taken the hospital as a precaution.

• Nolanville, TX A nine year-old girl was sexually assaulted at her school bus stop. It was second such assault of a young girl at the same bus stop within 3 months.

• (name withheld) A boy and girl engaged in a sex act on the bus. The bus driver reported not knowing anything about it. The incident only came to light after a fight on the bus ended with the students bringing up the sex issue. A number of other students witnessed the act but said nothing.

If your not certain about the ability of your school bus drivers to respond appropriately, Contact Keys today for information on Bus Driver Training - dealing with a Hostile Environment.

5. School Lawsuit

A federal jury in Miami has ordered the Broward County School Board to pay a school custodian $500,000 for emotional suffering caused by sexual harassment on the job. The plaintiff's attorney said the verdict for his client was noteworthy because she did not claim she had suffered financial harm as a result of the harassment. "For a jury to award half a million dollars for emotional distress means they evaluated the evidence as reflecting severe and serious harassment and discrimination," he said.

Budget Consultants now routinely include about 5% of an organization's budget as projected legal costs. This based on assumptions that the larger the budget, the more suits will be filed. One legal analyst wrote that recurring costs are more important than winning or losing. Even a lawsuit that is won will carry significant costs with it.

Interactive Video Click to learn more

How can schools avoid such tremendous costs?  The answer is very simple, avoid lawsuits. While this seems simplistic, there are some simple principles for staying out of court. "Walk the Walk" is an interactive computer program that combines award winning broadcast quality video with fully interactive software training modules. The staff members does not just read about a situation but actually sees it played out. He or she is then offered choices. This program has been effectively used for training staff on how to avoid situations that lead to legal actions.

If you still have questions about the current legal environment, meet one of the Newest Members of Keys Multi-Discipline Team.

Gus Douvanis GA, USA

Dr. Douvanis is a Nationally Renowned speaker and presenter on many Legal issues impacting schools and other youth oriented organizations.  He is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Law at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton Georgia, where he also serves as University Advisor for Legal Services and University Ethics Officer. 

 

He speaks on and teaches courses in;

• School Law and Ethics,

• Counselors and School Social Workers and the Law,

• Special Education Law, and

• Advanced Law and Ethics

Keys To Safer Schools.com can provide Counter Bullying for Administrators through the nationally used program Bullying Stops When Respect Begins that deals with Bullying and Cyber-bullying and other services targeting schools needs in this environment. Contact Keys today to learn how you can protect your school from these costly lawsuits.

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If you know someone else who is thinking about or talking about suicide, give them this list and tell a responsible adult. It is not "narcing", it is saving their life.

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When suicide, teacher deaths, bus accidents or an international terrorist attack happens at your school, what happens in the first 2-5 minutes will set the scene for how the crisis or emergency will progress and how it will affect the members of your school. Planning, Practice and Preparation are the keys to effectively mitigating the effects of the crisis. While there are many elements of the complete process, table top drills are simple, cost effective and revealing.

EXAMPLE: As a member of your District Crisis/Emergency Response Team, walk into one of your schools' office and let them know this is a drill. Then tell them that a truck has run off the highway and crashed into the building. It obstructs one major exit and has compromised the structural integrity of the building. Then spend about 5 minutes going through "what would you do?" with the Key School Staff. If the principal is out of the office, do not reschedule, because accidents will not, deal with the second in charge like Asst. Principal or designee.

This may seem trivial but it may surprise you at the answers you get. You will need a check-list to make sure that all contingencies are considered. For a full understanding of the process look at a International model  Emergency Response/Crisis Response Planning. Contact Keys for help in learning how to set up effective Table Top, Command Post and Full Crisis Plan Exercises.

 Keys@KeysToSaferSchools.com.

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