AASA Issues Statement on the Federal School Safety Commission Report
Alexandria, Va. – Dec. 18, 2018 – Daniel A. Domenech, executive director
of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, issued the following statement on a
report issued today by the Federal School Safety Commission.
“We appreciate that the Federal School Safety Commission has put
forward a report that lifts up some promising school district practices
related to building positive school climates, addressing and mitigating cyberbullying,
and promoting screening and early intervention for mental/substance use
disorders. In particular, we are glad the Commission endorsed one of our key
recommendations—create a federal clearinghouse to assess, identify, and share
best practices related to school security measures, technologies and
innovations for school district leaders.
“While a compendium of recommendations can be helpful to a
well-resourced district, which can adopt and implement a multitude of best
practices found in the report relatively easily, we are concerned the majority
of districts in the U.S. cannot dedicate the resources to fulfilling some of
the most basic recommendations of the report.
“Further, only one recommendation in the report suggests
Congress increases funding and we are deeply concerned that districts with varying
needs and resources will not be able to benefit from the report simply because
they lack access to the funding that would enable them to adopt some of these
best practices and policies.
The Commission has chosen to ‘pass the buck’ to states, hoping that
states will find the money to support state and district efforts; or worse,
advise federal agencies on how they can use limited, existing federal resources
to comprehensively address the myriad of challenges that prevent tragedies in
schools. The disconnect between the expansion of a federal list of best or
improved practices—many of which have substance—in light of the current funding
trends, merely dilutes the opportunity for improving student safety and will
leave many policy makers and educators playing a game of ‘shuffling of deck
chairs’ as they scramble with yet another growth in the federal list of things
they could and should do without the appropriate support.
“Specifically, if a district cannot afford to hire a mental health
provider, it’s hard to imagine how recommendations to adopt comprehensive
school-based mental health care services could be meaningfully implemented.
Similarly, if a district has been unable to afford updating its buildings for
40 years, it’s impossible to imagine they would be well-served by a
recommendation to limit entry points by rerouting roads or eliminating access
points to the building.
“Ultimately, the Federal School Safety Commission’s report has
limited utility for school leaders and its purported audience, if school
leaders lack the resources to fulfill the best practices and recommendations of
the report.
“Finally, we are disappointed by the
decision to recommend policy changes related to the 2014 discipline guidance within
the School Safety Commission report is misplaced. The 2014 guidance has flaws
and limited value for school leaders based on our 2018 survey of school leaders
that found only 16 percent of districts modified policies and practices because
of the guidance. What school leaders have most strongly objected to was how the
prior Administration investigated school district discipline policies prior to
and after the issuance of the guidance. This concern is not addressed by simply
rescinding the guidance nor is it addressed by any of the policies in the
report.”