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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, School Safety

  A recent news story involving the NJ Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, the Council on Local Mandates and a school district in Warren County in New Jersey caught my attention.  After reviewing related articles, are New Jersey school administrators missing out on a significant teachable opportunity? http://legalclips.nsba.org/?p=11962&utm_source=NSBA+e-Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=b060639842-Legal+Clips+Newsletter&utm_medium=email The Council on Local Mandates voted 7-2 that the New Jersey state law regarding anti-bullying must be amended because it includes an unfunded mandate for local school districts.  Is this really the message school administrators want to send to their students about doing the right thing?  Are these school leaders saying student safety and anti-bullying issues are notRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Incident Reporting, Legal, Risk Management, School Safety

  With the recent passing of football coach, Joe Paterno, Joe he can now rest in peace knowing he touched the lives of many as a coach at Penn State for 62 of his 85 years on this planet. The horrific scandal at Penn State University will no doubt have an effect on the legacy of JoePa (his nickname suggesting his fatherly quality to his players and students too), some will judge JoePa based on what they know and others will judge JoePa based on what they don’t know. For me, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Joe Paterno for his foresightRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, School Safety

  Two high profile incidents this week revealed that despite updates to the Clery Act and Title IX requirements, campuses continue to struggle to proactively identify warning signs and red flags and gather information and reports from their people (students, staff, faculty, law enforcement, counselors, etc.). Penn State – Lawmakers are investigating whether Penn State violated the Clery Act when it did not report child sexual abuse allegations regarding a former football coach to the proper authorities.  Several coaches were aware of the allegations, but did not report to the police. University of Idaho – University of Idaho officials say at least one police officerRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, School Safety, Uncategorized

  A disconnect is seemingly growing and becoming more and more serious every day. Disconnects in schools exist for many reasons including: silos and departments hierarchy and org chart issues multiple locations lack of ongoing awareness and accountability ineffective and outdated policies and procedures the disconnect between “well said” and “well done”   What about disconnects between Adults and Students…are these disconnects also a problem? For example, most adults never experienced cyber bullying at a young age, so can adults really relate to what students are experiencing these days? As I work with K-12 and Higher Education leadership across the U.S., I come across numerousRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, School Safety

  Anderson Cooper hosted a Town Hall Meeting on Sunday with the theme of ‘Bullying: It Stops Here’. I watched the town hall meeting and I listened to the experts and took notes. I listened to the kids and took even more notes.  I listened to Anderson Cooper say this about the kids: “We owe them more than talk”.   I agree! Benjamin Franklin nailed this a long time ago saying: Well Done is Always Better Than Well Said. The Town Hall Meeting revealed: Statistics from the survey at Wheatley High School were similar to most other surveys Kids are still not sure how to interveneRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Education, Incident Reporting, School Safety

Is your school prepared to respond accordingly to reports of bullying and harassment? Are you prepared to investigate, stop, prevent, eliminate hostile environments, take appropriate actions and document your actions? Are your school leaders aware of the different types of bullying that may be creating hostile learning environments in your school? Studies show for students to achieve academically, they must feel secure and comfortable in their learning environment. A recent study from the University of Virginia revealed the academic performance of students in schools with persistent bullying may suffer because students are less engaged in learning due to fears about bullying or a greater levelRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, Workplace Violence

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services needs to improve the way its staff and contractor staff process complaints from its waste, fraud and abuse hotline.  Long timeframes and inefficient processes have delayed starting work on many complaints.  On average, more than five months passed between CMS receiving complaints from OIG and contractors beginning work on them. Lessons Learned: It is critical for government agencies and all organizations to improve responses to tips and hotline complaints.   Not only are five months of inaction un-excusable, but  employees aware of this timeframe will no longer trust and will no longer report incidents to hotlines that doRead More →

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In: Campus Safety, Education, Government, Incident Reporting, Regulatory Compliance, School Safety

  The Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter in October 2010 outlining schools’ responsibilities for being aware of, responding to and preventing future incidents of bullying, discrimination and harassment.  In response to the National School Board Association’s letter questioning a school’s responsibilities, the  Department of Education response clearly states it did not overreach in its original guidance to school officials— it only reiterated existing laws and policies and gave examples of how school districts can help combat bullying and harassment. Lessons Learned:  Schools have been put on notice and must develop comprehensive programs to respond to incidentsRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting, Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety

  Virginia Tech was fined the maximum fine allowed under the Clery Act of $55,000 for waiting almost two hours before warning students, faculty and staff of an active shooter on campus. Lessons Learned: Colleges and Universities must develop, implement and follow clearly defined policies and procedures for notifying students and staff in emergency situations.  School Administrators may want to create customizable, organizational and situational specific templates prior to an incident so the warning messages are already defined and the appropriate processes are understood by all appropriate personnel.   Organizations must also have customized emergency and crisis management plans and ensure all individuals (students, faculty, staff,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Campus Safety, Emergency Management, Incident Reporting, Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety

  The U.S. Department of Education released the Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting providing step-by-step procedures, examples, and references for higher education institutions to follow in meeting campus safety and security requirements. Lessons Learned:  College and University administrators are overwhelmed with responsibilities for HEOA, FERPA, HIPAA, Clery Act, OCR ‘Dear Colleague’ Letters, and much more and therefore guidance from the Federal Government can be helpful.  It is critical for School Administrators to utilize resources and develop comprehensive campus safety programs and create a culture of compliance and preparedness that is ongoing.  Traditional methodologies are clearly not working based on new handbooks, new regulationsRead More →