Wednesday, March 9, 2011

White House Bullying Conference: School Safety Agenda or Political Agenda?

The politics of bullying

See: www.schoolsecurityblog.com/2011/03/white-house-bullying-conference-school-safety-or-gay-agenda/

Comments on the Thursday, March 10th, 2011, White House Conference on Bullying Prevention by Kenneth S. Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services:

"The Obama Administration, with the support of Congress, is systematically destroying any hopes for comprehensive and balanced federal school safety policy and funding. Last year they eliminated Safe and Drug Free Schools state formula grants for prevention, security, and related school safety programs. And in the last few weeks they eliminated the only dedicated federal K-12 school emergency planning grant program.

The Administration's entire focus is on skewing federal school safety policy and funding toward "bullying" and "school climate," which have become little more than code phrases for the gay rights special interests to which the Administration appears to be pandering for votes in response to political pressure."

Last October, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued a 10-page "Dear Colleagues Letter" to the nation's schools in which the Department redefined bullying as harassment subject to federal investigation and legal compliance enforcement. The National School Boards Association challenged the Department's action in a December 11-page letter calling it a broad and expansive interpretation of federal civil rights law that would "invite misguided litigation" against schools. See http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com/2010/12/school-boards-challenge-education-dept-civil-rights-bullying-order/

Trump says the Administration has eliminated and/or de-emphasized violence prevention, drug prevention, security, and emergency preparedness components of a comprehensive approach to school safety. He said the primary focus of the Department of Education has been on seeking $365 million for "bullying" and "school climate" survey grants while cutting other federal safe schools programs.

Trump's third book, Proactive School Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning, is scheduled for release by Corwin Press in April. The book has a dedicated chapter on "Managing Bullying" which addresses practical strategies dealing with school discipline, supervision, school climate, mental health, why anti-bullying laws are not needed, the politics of bullying, and related issues. He also conducts a workshop for school leaders entitled, "Managing Bullying Without New Programs and Expenses."

Kenneth S. Trump, M.P.A., is the President of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based national firm specializing in school security and emergency preparedness training and consulting. Ken served as a school safety officer, investigator, and youth gang unit supervisor for the Cleveland City Schools' safety division, and as a suburban Cleveland school security director and assistant gang task force director.He has authored three books and over 65 articles on school security and crisis issues. As one of the leading U.S. school safety experts, Ken has 25 years experience in the school safety profession and has worked with school and public safety officials from all 50 states. He is one of the most widely quoted school safety experts, appearing on all national news networks and cable TV and in top market newspapers. Ken is a four-time invited Congressional witness testifying on school safety and emergency preparedness issues. For more background, see www.schoolsecurity.org/school-safety-experts/trump.html. Trump also blogs at www.schoolsecurityblog.com