Trump’s safety panel takes aim at school discipline rules
The Trump administration on Tuesday moved to roll back an Obama-era policy that was meant to curb racial disparities in school discipline but that critics say left schools afraid to take action against potentially dangerous students.
The recommendation was among dozens issued in a new report by Trump’s federal school safety commission, which was formed in response to a Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and staff members, and sparked a national debate over gun control.
The panel was asked to study options to bolster security at America’s schools, from the regulation of guns to the regulation of violent video games. Yet rather than suggest a few sweeping changes, the commission issued 100 smaller suggestions that largely avoid strong stances on topics like gun control and whether schools should arm teachers.
“Our conclusions in this report do not impose onesize-fits-all solutions for everyone, everywhere,” said Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, wholed the commission. “The primary responsibility for the physical security of schools and the safety of their students naturally rests with states and local communities.”
Trump praised the report at a White House event Tuesday, saying “nothing is more important than protecting our nation’s children.”
On the question of whether schools should arm staff members, the panel said it should be left to states and schools to decide, but DeVos said schools should “seriously consider” the option.
Among the biggest proposals is a rollback of 2014 guidance urging schools not to suspend, expel or report students to police except in the most extreme cases. Instead, the guidance calls for a variety of “restorative justice” remedies that don’t remove students from the classroom.
President Barack Obama’s administration issued the guidance after finding that black students were more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled. The directive warns that schools suspected of discrimination — even if it is unintentional — can face investigations and risk losing federal funding.
But the policy came under scrutiny following the Parkland shooting.
In its report, the commission says the policy was well-intentioned but “may have paradoxically contributed to making schools less safe.” It calls for a rollback, saying disciplinary decisions should be left to school officials. It said the Justice Department should continue investigating intentional discrimination but not the unintentional cases that are barred under the 2014 policy.
The proposed rollback was praised by some conservative groups but drew sharp criticism from Democrats and advocacy groups.
Along with DeVos, the safety commission includes leaders of the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. They issued their findings after more than a dozen meetings with teachers, parents, students, mental health experts, police and survivors of school shootings.
The group studied whether states should raise the minimum age to buy guns, which is often 18 for rifles and 21 for handguns. Some states have increased the minimum age to 21 for all guns, including Florida, which made the move following the Parkland shooting.
It joined others including Hawaii and Illinois.
But the panel argues the change doesn’t make schools safer. It said there’s no research showing that age restrictions reduce killings, and it noted that most school shooters get their guns from family members, not through purchases.