Comprehensive School and Workplace Safety, LLC - Safe Schools

Threat Assessment Teams in the K-20 Campus Setting

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:09:37 -0700

How to Utilize Existing Strengths to Keep Your Campus Safe

Martin Speckmaier, Managing Member of Comprehensive School & Workplace Safety, LLC will be presenting at the Washington State K-20 School Safety Forum June 18-19, 2007. Held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, “Developing Safety Plans that Promote Violence Prevention” is an opportunity for Washington State educators to hear from national and local leaders in school safety and violence prevention in our schools.

In his presentation, Speckmaier will discuss Threat Assessment Teams, an inter-disciplinary, multi-agency approach of working with at-risk youth in schools and the importance of connecting school district with community college and/or university threat assessment team processes. Speckmaier will focus on plausible solutions to common barriers and best practices for the utilizing a threat assessment process. He will address the types of threats educators must be prepared for and current issues facing students today. Topics will also include Washington State Threat Notification Law, FERPA, the Clery Act, Safe School Initiative, Tarasoff Warning, HIPAA, and LEU records.

Shootings Raise Security Questions at Local Campuses

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:06:30 -0700

07:39 AM PDT on Tuesday, April 17, 2007
By CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 News and Wire Reports
SEATTLE - In the wake of yesterday's horrific carnage at Virginia Tech, security patrols have been stepped up at University of Washington and Seattle University. Officials say they are seeking to reassure their students of their safety, but the shootings also raise questions on how secure our local campuses are.
At the University of Washington, all available campus officers and extra police officer were out on patrol. The Department has about 50 commissioned officers. And at Seattle University, officers from the Seattle Police Department were stationed outside the main entrance while the private university's 19-strong private, unarmed security force also stepped up campus patrols.
But officials at both schools say it's virtually impossible to secure any campus with so many buildings.
Every American college campus will be asking several crucial questions over the coming days.
"Is there an evacuation, or shelter in pace, if there is a lockdown? They need to understand what to do if there is an active shooter on the campus," said Martin Speckmaier, school safety consultant.
UW officials say it does have a phone trail and e-mail system to lock down the campus. It a system tested just two weeks ago when a man killed a 26-year-old employee at the College of Architecture.
"It's a difficult challenge because universities and colleges pride themselves on an open environment," said Vicki Stormo, UW Police Chief.
Local Virginia Tech alumni say they always felt safe at the Blacksburg campus, but those vulnerabilities were exposed Monday over the course of a few hours.
"Blacksburg is such a sweet quite town, where this school is and it's a beautiful campus - to think of horrible things happening there," said Cindy Blacksburg, Virginia Tech alumni.
"It's one of those places where people from big cities send their kids because it's that type of safe environment," said Marcus Jenkins, Virginia Tech alumni.
Seattle University has been working a on a program to install plainclothes marshals in each campus building. Undoubtedly all our local campuses will be examining security policies in the days and weeks ahead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report

Washington State Law on Notification of Threat of Violence or Harm

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:45:03 -0800

RCW 28A.320.128
Notice and disclosure policies — Threats of violence — Student conduct — Immunity for good faith notice — Penalty. (1)

By September 1, 2003, each school district board of directors shall adopt a policy that addresses the following issues:      (a) Procedures for providing notice of threats of violence or harm to the student or school employee who is the subject of the threat. The policy shall define "threats of violence or harm";
     (b) Procedures for disclosing information that is provided to the school administrators about a student's conduct, including but not limited to the student's prior disciplinary records, official juvenile court records, and history of violence, to classroom teachers, school staff, and school security who, in the judgment of the principal, should be notified; and
     (c) Procedures for determining whether or not any threats or conduct established in the policy may be grounds for suspension or expulsion of the student.
     (2) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with educators and representatives of law enforcement, classified staff, and organizations with expertise in violence prevention and intervention, shall adopt a model policy that includes the issues listed in subsection (1) of this section by January 1, 2003. The model policy shall be posted on the superintendent of public instruction's web site. The school districts, in drafting their own policies, shall review the model policy.
     (3) School districts, school district boards of directors, school officials, and school employees providing notice in good faith as required and consistent with the board's policies adopted under this section are immune from any liability arising out of such notification.
     (4) A person who intentionally and in bad faith or maliciously, knowingly makes a false notification of a threat under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

[2002 c 206 § 1.]

Safe School Plans - New Washington Law Impacts Schools

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:36:38 -0800

RCW 28A.320.125
Safe school plans — Development — Progress reports — Rules.
(1) By June 1, 2002, within existing resources, the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with representatives from the emergency management division of the state military department, educators, classified staff, principals, superintendents, administrators, the American society for industrial security, the state criminal justice training commission, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, and others as determined by the superintendent, shall provide guidance to school districts in developing comprehensive safe school plans for each school. This guidance shall include, but shall not be limited to, a comprehensive school safety checklist to use as a tool when developing their own individual comprehensive safe school plans, and successful models of comprehensive safe school plans that include prevention, intervention, all-hazards/crisis response, and postcrisis recovery.
(2) Schools and school districts shall consider the guidance, including the comprehensive school safety checklist and the model comprehensive safe school plans, when developing their own individual comprehensive safe school plans.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with school district superintendents, shall establish timelines for school districts to develop individual comprehensive safe school plans. The superintendent of public instruction shall require school districts to periodically report progress on their comprehensive safe school plans.
(4) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules to implement provisions of this section. These rules may include, but are not limited to, provisions for periodic drills and testing, evacuations, lockdowns, or other components of a comprehensive safe school plan.

[2002 c 205 § 2.]

Notes:

     Findings -- 2002 c 205: "Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the government's primary role in protecting the health, safety, and well-being of its citizens has been underscored. The legislature recognizes that there is a need to focus on the development and implementation of comprehensive safe school plans for each public school. The legislature recognizes that comprehensive safe school plans for each public school are an integral part of rebuilding public confidence. In developing these plans, the legislature finds that a coordinated effort is essential to ensure the most effective response to any type of emergency. Further, the legislature recognizes that comprehensive safe school plans for each public school are of paramount importance and will help to assure students, parents, guardians, school employees, and school administrators that our schools provide the safest possible learning environment." [2002 c 205 § 1.]
     Severability -- 2002 c 205: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [2002 c 205 § 5.]
     Effective dates -- 2002 c 205 §§ 2, 3, and 4: "(1) Sections 2 and 4 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately [March 27, 2002]. (2) Section 3 of this act takes effect September 1, 2002." [2002 c 205 § 6.]

Washington's First County-Wide Threat Assessment Team

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:19:45 -0800

School Safety
By JENNIFER CARTER, Staff Writer
Skagit County Herald, January 8, 2007Following the fatal shooting of a student at a Tacoma high school last week, Skagit County educators are seeking to reassure parents and students with information about local efforts to prevent school violence.
In fact, Skagit County has the state’s first county-wide system for identifying and responding to threats of violence at school.
The program, launched last year, brings together school officials, law enforcement and mental health experts to evaluate threats and work with students to minimize the risk of violence.
Research shows that such a multi-disciplinary team approach to identifying, assessing and managing students who may present a risk is the best way to prevent actual violence, said Martin Speckmaier, a school safety consultant and retired police officer.
“School violence is not a school problem. It’s a community problem.” said Speckmaier, who has been involved with training members of the Skagit County assessment teams.
Bringing the resources and judgment of law enforcement, mental health professionals and school administrators together gives everyone a more complete picture of a student’s life and situation, said Dave Shackleton, a Mount Vernon Police school resource officer at Mount Vernon High School.
“Everybody comes to the table with what they know,” said Shackleton, a member of the school’s safety assessment team. “The goal is, how do we safely keep everybody in school.”

Since last school year, each school building in the county has had a trained safety assessment team to evaluate threats and determine how to manage students who make them.
The teams include representatives from all seven school districts, all nine law enforcement agencies as well as county mental health professionals.
This school year saw the creation of the first county-wide safety assessment team in the state. The group of experts is available to all Skagit County schools.
The program is funded through a three-year federal Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant to Northwest Educational Service District (ESD) 189, which provides support services for 35 school districts in northwest Washington. The multidisciplinary approach is also what experts recommend for preventing school violence, Speckmaier said.
In the wake of school shootings in the late 1990s, experts from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service teamed up to study so-called “targeted” violence in schools, in which students plan and prepare for violent attacks at school.

The study group’s primary conclusion was that schools need a unified team approach to assessing threats so the burden doesn’t fall entirely on school administrators, who may not have access to all the information about a student’s personal and home life and mental health, Speckmaier said.

Identifying threats

A key component of the program is a county-wide School Safety Help Line, launched last school year. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It’s another way that better communication can help reduce the risk of violence, said Dave Ahrenholz, a prevention center coordinator for the ESD, which headed up the creation of the county-wide system last year.
Other students often see the warning signs before school violence occurs, he said.
“The other kids will know things, but they won’t tell anybody,” Ahrenholz said.
“They don’t want to get anyone in trouble or, if it’s a bullying situation, they’re afraid.”
But to prevent violence, Ahrenholz said, schools need students and parents with concerns about potential threats to report their worries. Flyers and refrigerator magnets with the number have been distributed to all students in Skagit County schools, according to the ESD.
Representatives from Volunteers of America Care Crisis Response Services answer the line and respond based on their assessment of the seriousness of the threat.
If a caller reports criminal activity, the help line representative calls 911. Mental health counselors are available for callers with mental health problems. Each call generates a report that goes to the ESD, the school district and the school.
As with the county-wide assessment teams, it’s also the only county-wide school safety help line in the state, Speckmaier said.
The county-wide system also means that when a student who makes a threat at one school shows up at another school, there’s a system in place to notify staff to be on the lookout for potential risks.
“That’s how this process was intended to work,” Speckmaier said.

School Safety Help Line 1-800-585-3109

Protecting Students Against Violence - Newspaper Article

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:13:32 -0800

Protecting students against violence
By LAURA WILCOX
November 15, 2006
The Mulkilteo Beacon
Olympic View Middle School is ahead of the game when it comes to student safety.
“The recommendations I make to most schools are already in place at Olympic View,” school resource consultant Martin Speckmaier told a recent Safety Forum at the school.
Consultant Speckmaier of Comprehensive School Safety, LLC – which provides advice and training to schools – says the latest and most alarming school-specific safety issues include weapons, bullies, targeted violence and a resurgence of youth gangs.
The forum’s purpose was to examine ways to help at-risk kids before it’s too late. In the last decade alone the number of targeted acts of violence – like the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 – has risen dramatically.
“The No. 1 finding in these cases is that the kids are not crazy and didn’t just snap,” Speckmaier said. “The act is an understandable – but certainly not condonable – reaction to risk factors in their lives.”
Risk factors include being bullied or harassed, not having meaningful adult relationships, not having an adult role model, and not having a real connection with school, family and society.
“This is what it’s all about – getting together before something happens,” the consultant said. He also warns that these risk factors can lead to another problem: gang involvement.
Resurgent gang activity has been a fact of life in recent years. Why?
Consultant Speckmaier said that when gangs were big in the 1980s, law enforcement put many of the members behind bars.
Result: decreased gang activity. However, he adds, those same gang members are now getting back out.
And with more immigration and what he calls “gentrification,” the poorer people are pushing into the suburbs.
So why might your child be at risk?
“Gang activity looks exciting for the some kids,” he said. “It’s glamorized.”
Before becoming a school resource consultant, Martin Speckmaier served as a police officer for 20 years, retiring in 2005. His police work included sexual assault investigations and criminal and narcotics investigations.
“I used to have a ‘whack ‘em and stack ‘em’ attitude,” he said. “But after my work with several high schools, I now believe in prevention and intervention.”
Mayor Joe Marine, who was also present at the forum, thanked the parents in attendance for being there, “Your active participation is very commendable. It’s too bad the parents who need to be here aren’t here.”
The mayor also encouraged parents to talk to each other, “It’s not often people are caught in the act, but because a neighbor saw or found something,” he said.
Speckmaier said middle school is the perfect time to target troubled youth and reconnect them.
Martin Speckmaier can be contacted at (206) 853-2593.
The Comprehensive School Safety website is at www.school-safety-intervention.org.

Seattle Times Article on January 10, 2007

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:58:11 -0800

Ensuring safety in the schools

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County bureau
In the wake of the shooting death of a Tacoma high-school student last week, local educators and law-enforcement officials say violence in schools can't be eliminated. But schools can be made safer, they say, if school staff respond as a team to assess potential threats and provide support to at-risk youth.

"The most important thing a school can do is create a climate of trust and open communication. It's surprising how often that's overlooked," said Martin Speckmaier, a private-security consultant and a 22-year veteran of the Edmonds Police Department who patrolled Edmonds-Woodway High School as a school-resource officer for seven years.

Speckmaier noted that incidents involving guns at school are rare, in part because bringing a firearm to school results in a mandatory one-year suspension under state law. Most Snohomish County districts had none or one gun seized at schools in 2005-06, according to statistics from the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI).

But knives and other weapons were seized at a rate of about two a day in county schools, often in the largest districts. Everett had 74 incidents involving knives or other weapons, while Marysville and Northshore each had 60.

The Edmonds School District bucked the trend with only 14 incidents involving weapons last school year.

But Speckmaier cautioned against putting labels of "dangerous" on schools with higher incidents of weapons. A school may be more vigilant or alert to possible weapons, which may explain why they turn up more often, he said. And he said weapons go unreported at every school.

But Speckmaier also noted an alarming trend in teenage-death statistics. While car accidents still kill the most teenagers each year, homicide is now the No. 2 cause of death among older teens, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And he said the number of juvenile homicides with multiple victims also is increasing.

That's where school-threat response teams and safety planning come in.

After the Columbine shooting in 1999 that left 14 students and a teacher dead, the federal government developed a threat-assessment model that is now being implemented by Snohomish County schools. Under the model, schools create a team to identify, assess and manage students or situations that pose a threat of violence.

In Washington, OSPI has sponsored statewide training on the approach, which calls for school personnel, including administrators, counselors, psychologists, police and security officers to meet together and evaluate a threat. In some communities, mental-health and juvenile-justice professionals also are brought in to help evaluate and provide assistance to at-risk youth.

"The focus is on helping kids succeed. Most aren't hard-core psychopaths. They're kids stumbling who need support," said Craig Apperson, supervisor of safety and security for OSPI.

Edmonds School District adopted the threat-assessment model three years ago, said Jan Beglau, manager of student support and outreach for the district. Anytime a student threatens to act violently, the school team meets to devise a response plan and get ongoing monitoring and support for the student.

It might mean checking a student's backpack every day, or assigning an adult mentor, Beglau said. Parents also are brought into the confidential discussions, she said.

"The process is designed to identify underlying issues, to get at the root of what's causing the threats and give the kids a support system." But she cautioned that the motives for violence are often complex and hard to predict.

"If we knew why kids turned to violence, we wouldn't have any shootings," she said.

In Marysville, Assistant Superintendent Gail Miller said several of the gun incidents in the district last year involved nonlethal weapons including paint-ball rifles and air-pellet rifles spotted by school-security officers in cars parked in the student-parking lot.

Even though there was an innocent explanation, Miller said the incidents were treated seriously and threat-assessment teams evaluated the circumstances of the students involved.

She said the threat-assessment process allows school officials to distinguish the accidental or unintended event from the truly dangerous and to determine whether a student needs outside help or intervention.

Next year, Marysville Pilchuck High School, one of the state's largest at 2,700 students, will be broken into smaller learning communities, in part so students are better known by the adults in the school, she said.

Larry Francois, superintendent of Lakewood School District, said the most important thing a school staff can do is keep lines of communication open with students.

"Kids will know about things before an adult. We work on making kids feel comfortable and safe letting an adult know if there's a problem."

New Training Offered

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:30:34 -0800

Safety and Security Training for Transportation Personnel

School bus drivers are the first and last school employees to see our children on a daily basis. Ultimately children in school buses with their bus drivers are an extension of the school in which they belong. In any given day a bus driver with our students could encounter:
·         Escalating emotions and/or intimidating behavior from students or a parent
·         Acts or threats of violence / weapon on bus
·         Vehicular accident or a medical emergency
·         Trespasser aboard the bus
Many bus drivers receive inadequate training on how to manage safety issues on the bus to protect students from threats both inside and outside the bus. Our school bus drivers must be aware and prepared so they can take part in creating safe environments for our children.
Safety and Security Training for Transportation Personnel was created especially for bus drivers to give them essential information they will need while performing their daily duties and responsibilities. Key topics in this training include:
·         Latest trends in school violence – school shooters, terrorism and gangs
·         Preventing and managing violence aboard school buses
·         Heightened security awareness and the impact of terrorism
·         Increased observation skills at school and bus stops
·         Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying
·         Effective communication and de-escalation techniques
·         Understanding perspectives of culturally diverse students
·         Emergency preparedness planning
·         Communicating with emergency responders
·         Special education and special needs students
·         Applicable state and local laws
·         Gang activity and awareness
Tailored to meet the training needs within your district, Martin Speckmaier, managing member of Comprehensive School Safety, LLC offers this training to districts throughout the Puget Sound area. Employing more than 22 years of experience as a safety and security professional Martin supports districts’ school transportation officials by increasing staff awareness on school bus safety, security and emergency planning, while maintaining balance and common sense.
Contact Martin Speckmaier at 206-853-2593 or email: mhspeck@comcast.net

Action Steps for Parents

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:10:12 -0700

Parents play a key role in ensuring that their children are safe and violence-free. Without the active support and participation of parents, schools, and communities cannot be safe. Parents have to be part of a school’s effort to create an orderly, respectful environment. Some of the actions parents can take to assist schools are:

Set standards of behavior, limits, and clear expectations for children both in and out of school and develop mutually agreed-upon rules about homework, extracurricular participation, grades, curfews, chaperoned parties, and places that are off limits.
Teach standards of right and wrong and demonstrate these standards through example. Discuss with their children the school’s discipline policies, reinforcing the belief that school rules support the rights of all students to attend schools with disciplined environments safe from influence of bullying and violence and alcohol or substance abuse.
Encourage their children to talk about school, their social activities, their interests and problems, and even their walk to and from school.
Be involved in their children’s school life by reviewing homework, meeting their teachers, and attending school functions such as parent-teacher conferences, PTA/PTO meetings, class programs, open houses, plays, concerts, and sporting events.
Build a network of other adults with whom they can talk about school safety issues concerning bullying behavior and violence as well as alcohol and drug use.
Join a community association to ensure that issues related to bullying behavior and violence are made part of the organization’s agenda and that community groups work together to create a safe school corridor by supervising walking routes to and from school.

Sex Offender Notification to Principals by Sheriffs

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 09:44:52 -0700

Last spring the Superintendent of Public Instruction issued an informational memorandum to all Washington School District Superintendents and School Principals. Effective September 1, 2006, House Bill 2101 created a new amendment which created a sex offender notification obligations for Sheriffs and School Principals. Please read a copy of the memo below:SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
May 15, 2006                                                                 ( )     Action Required                                                                                        (X)    Informational
MEMORANDUM NO. 015-06 LEARNING AND TEACHING SUPPORT
TO:            Educational Service District Superintendents
School District Superintendents
School Principals
                 Administrators of Private Schools
                 School Safety Officers
FROM:     Dr. Terry Bergeson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
RE:           Sex Offender Notification to Principals by Sheriffs beginning September 1, 2006
House Bill 2101, enacted by the 2005 Regular Session of the Washington State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, amends RCW 9A.44.130 regarding sex offender registration and notification requirements. These amendments create new notification obligations for school principals and sheriffs, which take effect September 1, 2006.
The amendments to RCW 9A.44.130 in part require:
--Any adult or juvenile sex offender required to register under RCW 9A.44.130 to notify the county sheriff within 10 days of enrolling in or arriving at a school of the offender’s intent to attend the school.
--The county sheriff to promptly notify the school principal of this intent.
--The county sheriff to provide the principal with at least the following information: the sex offender’s name, address, date and place of birth, place of employment, crime for which convicted, date and place of conviction, aliases used, social security number, photograph, and fingerprints.
A principal receiving such notice shall disclose the information received from the sheriff as follows:

If the student who is required to register as a sex offender is classified as a risk level II or III, the principal shall provide the information received to every teacher of the student and to any other personnel who, in the judgment of the principal, supervises the student or for security purposes should be aware of the student's record.
If the student who is required to register as a sex offender is classified as a risk level I, the principal shall provide the information received only to personnel who, in the judgment of the principal, for security purposes should be aware of the student's record.
Any information received by a principal or school personnel under this law is confidential and may not be further disseminated except as provided in RCW 28A.225.330, other statutes or case law, and the federal family and educational and privacy rights act of 1994 (FERPA).

The full text of HB 2101 is included as a Web link to this memorandum.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required to develop a model policy for school districts to implement these new requirements (see Web link below—ESSB 6580, enacted by the 2006 Regular Session of the Washington State Legislature), and to provide a final report with recommendations to the Legislature by November 15, 2006. It is unlikely this model policy will be available prior to September 1, 2006. In the interim, OSPI is working closely with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to help facilitate local law enforcement officials and school administrators working together to develop protocols to effectively implement these new notification requirements.
Between now and September 1, 2006, district and school administrators should be in contact with local sheriffs and police chiefs to develop these protocols, which should address methods for ensuring timely notification and communication procedures to follow when issues arise. School administrators should anticipate receiving a list of all registered juvenile sex and kidnapping offenders by September 1, 2006, who are currently attending the school or who have provided information that they intend to attend the school in the future.
As these new notification requirements are implemented, school administrators may receive inquiries or information requests from parents or community members. School personnel are under no obligation to disclose information regarding sex offenders attending school beyond what is required by HB 2101, and in fact are prohibited from disclosing certain information under FERPA and state law. Thus, administrators should refer such inquiries to local law enforcement representative who provided the school with notification, the student’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration case manager, or a juvenile court representative for further information. School administrators should remind those inquiring that all community notifications are the responsibility of local law enforcement. Reference can also be made to the Washington sex offender Web site: http://ml.waspc.org for additional information.

Additional information:
Full text of House Bill 2101, Chapter 380, 2005 Laws: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202005/2101.SL.pdf
Full text of Senate Bill 6580, Chapter 135, 2006 Laws: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Law%202006/6580-S.SL.pdf
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) information can be viewed at the following Web site: www.ed.gov/offices/OII/fpco/ferpa
If you have any questions, please contact our office at 360.725.6051 or send an e-mail message to ksande@ospi.wednet.edu. The agency TTY number is 360.664.3631.
This bulletin is available on the agency Web site at the following URL http://www.k12.wa.us/bulletinsmemos/.
STUDENT SUPPORT AND OPERATIONS
Marcia L. Riggers
Assistant Superintendent

LEARNING AND TEACHING SUPPORT
Martin Mueller
Director

Kathleen Sande
Program Supervisor
TB:ks