BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON SCHOOL SAFETY: REPORT

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000004448 StartFragment:0000001878 EndFragment:0000004412

In the weeks following the February 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer assembled a Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety. The Panel was charged with examining, evaluating, and recommending ways to enhance the significant efforts by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to keep students safe from violence, particularly gun violence.

The Panel includes experts and leaders from a wide array of fields: education, gun violence prevention, mental health, public safety, business, the faith community, government, and architecture. Over the span of two months, the Panel convened eight town hall meetings—in every Board district of LAUSD—to hear presentations from stakeholders at LAUSD, outside experts, and the public on issues that affect student safety.

The Panel discussed access to firearms, student mental health on and off-campus, the reporting and investigation of threats, safety in the neighborhoods surrounding schools, school security procedures, and the design of safe schools, among other issues. In the course of developing recommendations, the Panel received 415 public comments with suggestions to  improve school safety.

Ultimately, the Panel has developed a set of recommendations calling on the entire community to build upon the many measures already in place at LAUSD—and in the broader Los Angeles community—designed to keep students safe.

ThisReport begins with an analysis of key school safety issues derived from expert presentations at Panel hearings, academic literature, public testimony and other sources as well as a review of the extensive efforts LAUSD has undertaken to keep students safe. The Report continues with an in-depth discussion of each of the Panel’s recommendations. The final section of the Report discusses resources that might help pay for Panel recommendations that would require additional funding.

Related article