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With your host Dr. David P. Perrodin, PhD
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Cameras and video surveillance have become ubiquitous with school safety. Those super-tech tools have amazing capabilities - such as zooming in to read print on a piece of paper on the hallway floor. But, cameras are almost exclusively forensic equipment - they might be helpful for identifying who stole a jacket from a locker. From a prevention standpoint, cameras are over-hyped. Realistically, nobody is watching a dozen live camera streams. And, it’s unlikely that camera systems will allow law enforcement to track and intercept a school shooter who is inside of a school. But, perhaps the bad rap of cameras should be re-visited. Has Doc shifted his position on video surveillance in school settings, beginning with license plate readers? WHAT IS IT? This rabbit hole begins with license plate readers. Automated license plate reader (ALPRs) systems combine high-speed cameras and sophisticated software to capture and convert license plate images into data that can be compared with information in other databases. Cameras used in ALPRs may be mobile or stationary and are small enough to be mounted on police cars, road signs or traffic lights, or placed at the sides of roads or on bridges. License plate reader systems can collect a driver’s geographic location, along with the date and time a vehicle was in a particular place. DETERRENCE. A 2014 survey of more than 97,000 school bus driver’s found that 76,966 vehicles illegally passed school buses on a single day! As of 2015, thirteen states explicitly allow school districts to use cameras to capture drivers illegally passing stopped buses. Clearly marking school buses as having ALPRs and coupling that to billboards and media awareness campaigns might deter people from illegally passing buses. This is just one example of deterrence from ALPRs. Another might be ALPRs verifying parent’s vehicles entering a school area. What if a non-custodial guardian went to the school to take a student? And systems with ALPRs might notify office staff that the vehicle is not associated with someone approved to pick up the child. WHAT IF PLATE READERS COULD ALSO DETECT WEAPONS? In a 2021 research study titled: ‘Handgun detection using combined human pose and weapon appearance’, it was observed that “This work proposes the use of the human pose as complementary information to improve the performance of current handgun detectors based on deep learning. The human pose, defined as the relative position of the different joints and limbs of the human body, is quite characteristic in shootings.” In other words, deep learning AI is getting very good at identifying the pattern of not only a gun, but the human movements that happen prior to firing a gun. So, thinking beyond ALPRs, one can step into even more sophisticated AI that recognizes types of vehicles, shapes, and patterns. How about software paired with ALPRs in order to detect someone holding a gun or a knife? It’s not far-fetched, and already in place at some of the world’s most secure settings (we just don’t know about it). In the fight to mitigate drug overdoses, mosaic camera systems might be able to identify when someone collapses - and immediately flash that information to authorities. So, there’s much more capability here than simply reading license plates - and is that a good thing? ARE LICENSE PLATE READERS LEGAL? According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2022), at least 16 states have statutes that expressly address the use of ALPRs or the retention of data collected by ALPRs. For example, Arkansas prohibits use of ALPRs by individuals, partnerships, companies, associations or state agencies. There are exceptions for limited use by law enforcement or controlling access to secure areas. And, data can not be preserved for more than 150 days. Vermont requires a law enforcement officer to be certified in the use of an automated license plate reader to operate such a system. Provides that active system data may only be accessed by an officer with a legitimate law enforcement purpose for the data. What is a ‘legitimate law enforcement purpose’ in a school setting, and who is monitoring how these systems are being accessed as well as how the data is kept secure? SAFETY WITHOUT COMPROMISING PRIVACY? ALPRs collects a lot of “customer” data. With data breaches commonplace, what are the risks of having ALPRs data hacked, or shared, or even sold? And, ALPRs data from a variety of locations might be able to identify an individual's behavior. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 202 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 01-10-2023.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Have you imagined that not missing a day of high school could put you square in the driver’s seat of a new car? What began as a novel #truancy pilot roughly twenty years ago is becoming increasingly popular in high schools across America. Why are cash-strapped #schools ponying up cars for students with perfect, or near-perfect #attendance? What are the outcomes of these incentives? What are the positions of advocates and opponents? In this episode, Doc describes the “cars for attendance” trend speeding through the parking lots of America’s high schools. WHAT IS TRUANCY? States have statutory citations for compulsory school attendance and school attendance enforcement. These exist to compel students to attend school on a regular basis. Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, is informally referred to as “skipping school.” A “truant student'' is typically absent for several days, or weeks, during the school year. The pattern tends to be pervasive and the lack of regular attendance diminishes the student’s ability to benefit from instruction. Students who are truant are often ineligible to participate in organized sports and generally are not connected with school activities. TRUANCY REDUCTION: KEEPING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL. In September 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice published a 16-page bulletin titled: Truancy Reduction, Keeping Students in School. Truancy had been well-studied by 2001, and although it impacted students of all ages, it was most prevalent in high schools. The report stated, “Truancy has been clearly identified as one of the early warning signs that youth are headed for potential delinquent activity, social isolation, and/or educational failure. Other studies established lack of commitment to school as a risk factor for substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and dropping out of school.” OTHER CONSEQUENCES OF TRUANCY. The DOJ’s 2001 report predicted dire financial impacts of truancy and dropouts, including (1) Less educated workforce, (2) Business loss because of youth who “hang out” and/or shoplift during the day, (3) Higher daytime crime rates, and (4) cost of social services for families of children who are habitually truant. INCENTIVES FOR STUDENT ATTENDANCE - YOU GET A CAR! In 2022, Bastrop ISD partnered with the local Sames Bastrop Ford dealership to offer one lucky student the chance to win a car in its “Drive Sames 4 Education.” “Kristi Lee, BISD's district deputy superintendent, said the district has seen a dip in attendance and all students' grades. The free car acts as an incentive to get students to come back to class. For the 2021-22 school year, BISD had an attendance rate of 90.59% – the lowest rate in the last four years. When the pandemic originally hit, during the 2019-2020 school year, overall attendance was almost three percentage points higher at 93.67% (Comme, P. 2022).” Search engines return thousands of similar stories, from New Caney High School to Honey Grove ISD to San Antonio High School. ARGUMENTS FOR CARS AND HIGH-VALUE PRIZES. It works. Research has found that financial incentives typically are the most effective in driving teenagers. Oftentimes, parents will reward students with a cash bonus after they produce good grades. But on the contrary, children are more prone to strive for something they can control, like studying or even attendance (Prothero, A. 2017). On the flip side, incentives are much less effective for actual test scores. In other words, incentives work to motivate kids to attend school, but not necessarily to perform well in school. The cost of a car (and some of the prizes are used cars) might be $25,000, or less if donated by a dealership or community philanthropy. That expense is lower than the school funding a truancy officer or cuts to school funding due to lower enrollment. ARGUMENTS AGAINST CARS AND HIGH VALUE PRIZES. Schools create an artificial external reward system for something that should be internalized as having value. For example, we don’t brush our teeth to receive a chance to win a car from the dental office, although lack of dental hygiene could deteriorate our health and cost thousands of dollars to fix. Another argument is that the fact that high-value prizes increase attendance underscore that traditional school operations don’t motivate students. Maybe it’s a stale curriculum? It’s worth noting The Safety Doc Podcast episode 195 and guest Mike Dahle discussing how Esports is rocketing in popularity in schools - and also contributing to increased attendance. Yet, the majority of schools don’t offer Esports. For car raffles, people claim the optics look bad - of quasi-paying kids to attend school. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 201 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 01-03-2023.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
It’s counterintuitive, but research findings indicate that someone in need is more likely to receive help when one person is present compared to when several people are standing by. That’s right, you are less inclined to #help another person in trouble if you are in a group. But, wouldn’t the group be more capable and powerful to help than any single individual of the group? Most of us have seen inspiring videos of strangers locking arms to create a human chain in order to rescue a victim struggling in a swollen river. Anecdotally, we might be more willing to collectively intervene to counter a force of nature. That river won’t hire a lawyer and sue us. In this episode, Doc defines the bystander effect, identifies the three types of #bystandereffect, provides reasons for the #bystander effect, and concludes with ways to overcome the bystander effect. WHAT IS THE BYSTANDER EFFECT? “Psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley identified a pattern of behavior they called the bystander effect, which they demonstrated in their labs for the first time in 1968. They describe it as a #behavior that occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation. Latané and Darley were spurred to their studies by the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City, a case that became infamous because of observers’ inaction (Vernon, J., Overcoming the Bystander Effect. American Scientist). Genovese, age 28, was returning from her job as a manager of a bar when she was brutally attacked and murdered near her residence in Queens, New York. 38 eye witnesses stood by as she was stabbed and killed. None of them called the police. 3 TYPES OF BYSTANDER EFFECT. Researchers Latané and Darley (1970), proposed three different psychological processes that might prevent a bystander from helping a person in distress. (1) diffusion of responsibility; (2) evaluation apprehension (fear of being publicly judged); and (3) pluralistic ignorance (the tendency to rely on the over-reactions of others when defining an ambiguous situation). REASONS FOR THE BYSTANDER EFFECT. When we are in a group, it’s easier to assume that someone else will step and do something - that there is someone “better-qualified” to lend help. When people make the assumption that someone will spring into action, no one actually steps up and helps. And, oddly, the most common observation at the scene of an accident is a sea of people aiming their phones at the incident. This also amplifies evaluation apprehension as an individual’s attempts to render aid will be forensically analyzed from fifty angles. Undoubtedly, the lack of overt public education about Good Samaritan laws (all at the state level) toss dust into the cost-reward measurement of potential responders. “Does the law have my back if I step up and step in to help?” PILIAVIN SUBWAY STUDY. In 1969, researchers designed a study to investigate how a group of people would react if they saw a person who collapsed on a train. Here are notable findings from that study: (A) The public usually helped quickly and on their own - nobody had to direct them what to do; and, (B) The longer no help was offered, the more likely it was that observers would leave the incident. Piliavin proposed that humans are hard-wired to become physiologically aroused when they see someone in distress. The longer they think about responding, the less likely they are to respond. HOW TO OVERCOME THE BYSTANDER EFFECT. Many people experience the cost of “regret” for not helping when they were capable of helping. They might experience guilt, disapproval, damaged self-esteem and negative emotional responses. To overcome the bystander effect, people must practice situational awareness and, in doing so, heighten their ability to recognize when things begin to change from the baseline. This is often the tacit ability of identifying that something is, in fact, an emergency. Feel responsible to take action. That’s a tough call, though, as you can’t place yourself in harm’s way. You might be able to dodge downed live wires to carry someone from a wrecked car - or you might be electrocuted. Finally, choose a form of assistance. You might be able to apply pressure to a cut that’s bleeding. Maybe you can be on the phone with 9-1-1 relaying important information about the event. What if you need help - and what if the crowd watches as you fade away. SOURCES: Latané, Bibb & Nida, Steve. 1981/03/01. Ten Years of Research on Group Size and Helping. Psychological Bulletin; Piliavin I. M., Rodin, J., & Piliavin, J. A. (1969). Good samaritanism: an underground phenomenon?. Journal of personality and social psychology, 13(4), 289. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 200 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 12-27-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
On September 7, 2022, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced bill S.4794 - Naloxone Education and Access Act (NEAA). This bill reauthorizes through FY2027, expands eligibility for, and otherwise makes changes to a grant program that supports access to medications that reverse opioid overdoses (e.g., naloxone). What might this mean for K-12 schools? WHAT IS AN OPIOID? Opioids are a class of drug prescribed by doctors to treat moderate to severe pain. Common types of opioids are oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine, and methadone (REMS, 2022). OPIOID USE DATA. According to the 2017 Final Report of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis: In 2016, an estimated 239,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 were current misusers of pain relievers (1.0% of adolescents), and 631,000 young adults aged 18 to 25 misused pain relievers in the past month (1.8% of young adults) … Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 152,000 (0.6%) had a pain reliever use disorder in the past year, and 291,000 young adults aged 18 to 25 (0.8%) and 1.3 million adults aged 26 or older in 2016 (0.6%) had a pain reliever use disorder in the past year (p. 24). OPIOIDS IN SCHOOLS. Opioid use and overdoses are increasing in schools. In addition to user-exposure, second-hand exposure also poses risks, especially with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine (REMS, 2022). Per EducationWeek, “Citing concerns about student opioid use—and fentanyl specifically—a growing number of districts have equipped schools with naloxone, a drug that temporarily reduces the harmful effects of overdoses. The Los Angeles Unified School District became the latest to do so last month when it said it would stock the drug, and train qualified staff to use it, as part of a multiprong response to a “devastating epidemic of overdoses that are all too common in Los Angeles. [Other] districts—from Des Moines, Iowa, to Denver— have also stocked naloxone in recent years, some empowered by changes in state laws that make it easier to do so.” (Blad, 2022). SENATOR BALDWIN’S BILL. The bill would amend Section 545 of the Public Health Service Act and bring federal-level clarity and guidance to states regarding who can dispense reversal medication, where it can be placed, training, and immunity for using it in an attempt to benefit a suspected overdose person. Specifically, the NEAA would strike “for pharmacists to dispense a drug or device approved and cleared” and insert “that increase access to drugs and devices approved, cleared, or otherwise legally-marketed.” In other words, reversal drugs would be available to community-based distribution programs and there would be some type of “standing order” allowing for non-medical personnel to administer the reversal drug. CONSIDERATIONS FOR SCHOOLS. For some educators and community members, Naloxone on campus will signal a defeat against the invasiveness of opioids. Once Naloxone is stashed in AED cabinets - it’s there forever. Others will have more favorable perceptions that might center on saving lives. How will schools integrate opioid awareness and overdose prevention along with other alcohol and other drug (AOD) programs? Naloxone availability has been impacted by supply chain disruptions, but it’s typically about $25 per dose and there’s little incentive for someone to steal or misuse it. Naloxone could be placed in the AED cabinet, for example. A top concern for school officials will be legal ramifications of administering Naloxone. Would a student be permitted to administer it to another student? Who has discretion to use it? A guidance document from REMS (2022) states, “Identify, with general counsel, and inform the campus community about state Good Samaritan laws that provide immunity from arrest, charge, or prosecution for certain drug offenses for a person experiencing an overdose — or witnessing another person experiencing an overdose — who seeks medical attention.” So, it’s ultimately placing the risk upon the local board of education and the school’s insurer. Hopefully, Senator Baldwin’s proposed bill, or others like it, will align Naloxone with the standard for a non-trained person to be able to use a publicly-available AED to attempt to benefit a person encountering a heart attack. SOURCES: Blad, E. (2022, October 10). Why Districts Are Stocking Naloxone in Response to the Opioid Crisis. Education Week.; Preparing for Opioid-Related Emergencies for K-12 Schools and Institutions of Higher Education. Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA). (Retrieved 2022) SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 199 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 12-20-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Professional discretion and acting in the best interest of the child affords school district officials options to unravel the snags created by their own protocols and policies webs. What happens when a school district doubles down behind flawed policies? What recourse exists for parents? In this episode, Doc shares an authentic case study from his special education legal issues course. Would you ban a kindergarten student with epilepsy from attending school because of her doctor-prescribed CBD oil? THE CASE (The following is copied from Rogoway Law Group, 2018). “Brooke Adams is a five-year-old girl diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. Brooke currently uses medicinal cannabis-derived CBD oil to significantly reduce the frequency of seizures and medicinal cannabis-derived THC oil as an emergency medication to quickly stop seizures once they start. Brooke obtains both oils pursuant to a valid recommendation from a licensed physician. The Rincon Valley Union School District refused to place Brooke on a District campus because it alleged that her medication is not permitted on a school campus or school bus under both state and federal law; instead, in April 2018, the District offered to Brooke an individualized educational program (“IEP”) that included only one (1) hour of home-based schooling each day.” SPECIAL EDUCATION DUE PROCESS HEARING. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), schools are required to ensure that all children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”) that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet the child’s unique needs. When a parent believes that their child has been denied FAPE (in this case, the parents believed the school district was required to educate Brooke with her peers), they can pursue what is known as a “due process hearing” that compels the state’s department of education to investigate and then rule on findings of whether the school district violated the students procedural rights, failed to provide FAPE, and also the remedy. The special education due process hearing essentially is a trial including lay and expert witnesses, exhibits, testimony, and briefs filed by the parties. Schools are always represented by an attorney, often via their errors and omissions insurance policy. Parents can retain an attorney or represent themselves. IS CBD OIL ILLEGAL IN SCHOOLS? This varies from state to state, but CBD oil is typically not illegal in schools. However, schools can create policies that ban CBD oil - including CBD oil prescribed by a physician. REASONS WHY DISTRICTS BAN CBD OIL. CBD oil is a slippery slope as it cannot, per federal law, contain more than .3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Anything with more THC is considered a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is federally illegal. CBD oil is not sold through typical state-regulated pharmacies. The purity and level of THC in the product is regulated by the manufacturers and sellers, not the FDA. The methods for measuring the level of THC might not be uniform across manufacturers. School staff can test if CBD oil contains THC, but they wouldn’t be able to determine the percentage of CBD. A school nurse, or designee, administering CBD oil that somehow contained more than .3 THC would be, in fact, committing a schedule 1 federal drug offense! A school nurse could lose his license! WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM? The Department of Education at the state level is unwilling to give clear guidance on the administration of CBD oil prescribed by a doctor. Instead, state agencies offer vague guidance and direct districts to consult their own legal counsel to inform a stance on the matter. DISCRETION AND ACTING IN THE BEST INTEREST. School officials had options to remedy this situation before it landed on the judge’s desk. One course of action would have been to modify the school’s board of education policy to permit the administration of CBD oil with a doctor’s order. Another plan might have involved working with the manufacturer of the CBD oil to become better informed, and confident in, the monitoring for THC in the end product. Ultimately, the state should have made a clear ruling affirming the use of CBD oil in school and to hold harmless staff for administration of CBD oil that might contain trace amounts of THC. What would you have done? RULING. The judge ruled that Rincon Valley Union School District had denied 5-year-old Brooke Adams a “free and appropriate public education” in the “least restrictive setting” — which federal special education law requires. Hooray, Brooke went to school! SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 198 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 12-13-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Guest Lee Jarvis returns to the show and explains the features and benefits of a bank account-style voting system. As people grow skeptical of elections, Lee describes that trust may be restored by using existing systems in different ways, and such a pivot might even make it easier for voters to cast votes and to track their ballot. The main points of a bank account-like voting system are: universal national voter registry; voter “bank account” to track and log votes so voters can track their ballot/vote; more locations for a to vote; and improved data logistics for the public to observe the data. ELECTION INTEGRITY CONCERNS. News media have stirred the US public with the incomplete portrayal of the timeline of concerns about the integrity of American elections. In other words, election-doubt didn’t appear from thin air in 2016. Per Pippa Norris, author of Electoral Integrity in America: Securing Democracy, Oxford University Press (2018), “Concern about the integrity of American elections did not start with Trump's election; flaws in procedures have gradually grown during recent decades. The contemporary "tipping point" that raised public awareness was the 2000 Bush v. Gore Florida count, but the 2016 campaign and its aftermath clearly worsened several major structural weaknesses. This deepened party polarization over the rules of the game and corroded American trust in the electoral process.” Furthermore, the 2022 Arizona governor election was marred when officials in populous Maricopa county stated that on election day, [technical] “problems affected ballot tabulation machines in about 60 of the county’s 223 voting centers.” Hence, actions must be taken to infuse integrity-supports into the eroding election framework. NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRY. A national voter registry would utilize local voting locations in order for people to register and vote at any location in the system. Combining that feature with an online account system would help people to track their vote. In ways similar to Social Security cards, voters could be issued “voting cards” and these cards might incorporate QR codes, barcodes, numbers, and a photo. Think of using your credit card to purchase items at a store. The card is unique to you, although there were a hundred shoppers in the store - all purchasing different constellations of items. And, you can go online and check your credit card account to verify your purchases and monitor for fraud. Similar principles could be in place for a “voting card.” INDIVIDUAL VOTING RECEIPTS. Voting machines could be designed to print receipts coupled with opt-in quarterly mail statements (mail statements is a must) along with the digital account. And, digital accounts should list nullified votes. VOTING ONLINE OR VIA APP. Lee stated that he has concerns over online or app-based voting. If such a model were to exist, it should require a decade of vetting and voter registry every 1-2 years. The ability to hack such a system is underscored with the frequent data breaches and ransomware attacks rife in public institutions as well as private businesses. VOTING LOCATIONS. A system of secured verified accounts (voter cards) would expand voting locations beyond traditional locations. Per Lee, an organization or business could rent voting machines and host a party! Why can’t voting be a celebration? The rental units might be paired with body-cam security guards and body cam staff for the machines - and the machines are valid anywhere in America. Think of the voting machines as similar to ATMs. EARLY VOTING. Early voting could be as simple as a portable voting machine controlled by the election commission. It could be transported to nursing homes, or community centers. HOW MIGHT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ACCESS THEIR ACCOUNTS? Cashless stores and accounts requiring 2-step verification are not always easy-to-use for people who are elderly or people with disabilities. As voting moves further to the digital age, considerations must center on both security and accessibility. To offset this access barrier, Lee notes that banks have automated phone account systems and the postal system features mailing of letters. Lee adds that those in the military or US citizens, but not in the US during an election, would be able to use their voter card at their locations to cast their vote. Lee further postures that bank ATM machines could theoretically be repurposed as voting machines. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 197 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 12-06-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
School safety exercises often involve #school staff, #students and agencies (police/fire/EMS), but lack measurable learning objectives. What did exercise coordinators specifically measure during and following the exercise? Does everyone need to participate in the safety exercise, or should some staff and students be assigned to different roles, such as observers? Is it OK to include parents in the exercise? In this episode, Dr. Perrodin fixes the broken framework of inter-agency #schoolsafety exercises in order to center on learning and practices that promote safe schools. BONUS. Doc shares a powerful, yet simple “5-minute safety asset inventory” that will greatly improve school personnel’s awareness of fire alarm pulls, AEDs, and fire extinguishers. OVERARCHING THEMES. Three overarching themes are present in school safety exercises. (1) Discretion - who has it, and how do you measure it? (2) Decision Making - how are decisions informed, and are they made at a brisk pace? (3) Induction - how are new staff, students and families made aware of safety protocols? CONSTRUCTS. These are specific areas that will be measured through learning objectives. There are seven constructs for school safety exercises: (1) Communications, (2) Incident command system/structure, (3) protocols, (4) response times, (5) mechanical systems, (6) staging assets, and (7) maintaining the perimeter. COMMUNICATION. Was there a sufficient number of 2-way radios? What is the range of the radios? Are radios available at community partner 4K sites? INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM. Who has discretion to activate crisis notifications and systems? Will people delay the alert as they search for the “person in charge?” Who has the authority to commit personnel and resources and does that change during an evolving event? PROTOCOLS. Does the intruder protocol direct students to flee the school or to barricade within the classroom, or both? What should staff say as they communicate over 2-way radios? Who is responsible for grabbing “Go Bags” for students with medical needs? RESPONSE TIMES. How much time passed between someone becoming aware of an incident and the activation of the crisis notification. How much time passed for staff and students to evacuate the school or to get into their secured positions for intruders or storms? How much time passed between the 9-1-1 call and emergency responders arriving on scene and then entering the building or impacted area? MECHANICAL SYSTEMS. Assess the functioning of the PA, door locks and the software system that enables electronic messages to be sent to parents. If a door lock malfunctions, who is responsible for ensuring that it is repaired? STAGING ASSETS. Where did arriving responders put their equipment? Was that efficient throughout the response? How were additional resources staged, such as extra emergency responders from a neighboring community, or extra buses - were they brought on site, or kept somewhere else close by? Where might officials stage arriving parents (even if you did not ask them to come to the school). MAINTAINING THE PERIMETER. Who determines the perimeter, and how is that communicated to school officials, parents, and the public? How might we be proactive and direct parents to not rush to school during a crisis, or to rush to other schools? What if someone enters a perimeter? PARTICIPANTS AND OBSERVERS. Most people will be participants, but aim for up to 10 observers who will wear a high-vis vest to identify their role. They will monitor communications, orderly response, trauma features, and interactions between responders and recipients. ROLE PLAYERS. Consider a parent at the perimeter who wants to access the school. What did role players find helpful, or what was frustrating? HOT WASH. A Hotwash is a facilitated discussion to capture feedback about any issues, concerns or proposed improvements participants may have following an exercise, planned event or real-world incident. The hot wash is not intended to critique, grade success, or failure. COMMUNICATE FINDINGS OF THE EXERCISE. Dr. Perrodin notes that preliminary findings should be shared with staff, families, and the community within 72 hours. He also steps through a template to generate a 4-page report to the board of education including photos and quotes from participants. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 196 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 11-29-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
More youth are participating in Esports - and it’s nothing like the trope stereotype of “gamer kids” isolated in their basements, chomping on chips and sipping sodas while gaming online with other kids in similar grunge contexts. In this episode, Esports expert Mike Dahle will help to accurately inform us about school Esports, including how it’s in-person and team-centric, ways Esports hones skills for learning - from analytical problem solving to time management, and how Esports helps students consider STEM career paths. In fact, universities are providing scholarships for Esports athletes! ABOUT MIKE DAHLE. Mike Dahle is a Business Teacher at Elkhorn Area HS and President of the Wisconsin HS Esports Association, WIHSEA.org. He was a second-year teacher when he learned how far PC gaming had come since his younger gaming days when a student gave a presentation on the League of Legends World Championship. Ever since that presentation, his interest in esports has grown exponentially. He started one of the first state associations that has since grown to 125+ schools around the state, serves as a Board Member for the Milwaukee Esports Alliance, serves as a Board Member for the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance, and is constantly trying to push esports to the next level in the state of Wisconsin. WHAT DOES BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY LOOK LIKE FOR ESPORTS. There isn’t a template for BOE policy for Esports. It’s often treated similar to other school clubs. Surprisingly, some districts have bypassed Esports due to the cartoonish guns in some of the games. It’s worth noting that high school trap shooting team numbers are at record highs in America. ARE ESPORTS INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM? Most games are team-based, and individual matches add into a team score. This happens in the game SUPER SMASH BROTHERS, for example. Think of it like batting order in baseball. Players are seeded so one school’s #5 player would compete against the #5 player from a different school. Esports can be played by teams within a state, but also between states. It depends upon how the league is structured. WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR ESPORTS? The top five popular titles are: Super Smash Bros, Rocket League, Fortnite, Valorant, and League of Legends. ARE ESPORTS ACCESSIBLE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES? Yes! There is much flexibility in accommodating Esport players as long as the accommodation doesn’t afford them an unfair competition edge. In Milwaukee, for example, a company designs adaptive controllers. A high-ranked quadriplegic player uses a mouth-held device to game. Esports also require minimal travel. Students typically only leave their district if they are participating in a state-level competition. 3D PRINTING AND ESPORTS. The 3D printing community collaborates through sites such as “Thingiverse” to create different or adapted controllers, and Microsoft offers several adaptive controllers. BENEFITS OF ESPORTS FOR STUDENTS. Gamers gain useful skills from participating in esports that help them on a broader learning journey. Analytical problem solving, time management, collaboration, and teamwork are key. Video games can also help to improve visual perception, enhance memory, and lead to better focus and attention. Some students who participate in Esports had previously not participated in other extracurricular activities. DO SCHOOLS GIVE CREDIT FOR ESPORTS. In most instances, students do not receive “credit” for participating in Esports. There is no curriculum approved by DPI to this point, although there is discussion to develop a curriculum. There is an inaugural INTRO to ESPORTS class at UW (Wis)-Parkside this year. Some Wisconsin schools, including: Random Lake, Racine, and Montello, award a patch for varsity. ARE ESPORTS PART OF TRADITIONAL STATE ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONS? This varies by state. In Wisconsin, the WIAA and WIHSEA are separate entities and, at present, do not collaborate. Playfly (an Esports business) partners with high school state associations in Washington and Arizona to provide students with the infrastructure to compete and learn. HOW DO SCHOOLS FUND ESPORTS? Esports has a very small funding footprint. Coaches are either unpaid volunteers or receive stipends ranging from $400 to $5,000. Compensation for coaches and persons managing leagues is inconsistent across schools. Esports is generally under-funded when compared to compensation for coaches or people who oversee school clubs. Twitch channel and affiliate program generates $2.50 per subscriber. SPONSORS at the local level (Wisconsin) include: Spectrum Industries from Eau Claire, Bug Tussel Wireless, and Allstate insurance agents. Jolly Good Soda sponsors Random Lake. There are no state-level sponsors for Esports in Wisconsin. It is difficult for Esports groups to obtain a bank account or PayPal. Some schools host fundraiser invitationals. The “Extra Life” www.extra-life.org gaming marathon is a 24-hour charity event that raises money for children’s hospitals, including Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. It was held on November 5, 2022. POST HIGH SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREERS. There is a significant and growing collegiate scene for Esports with various organizers, including The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). Students might receive scholarships. Post-secondary institutions have dedicated facilities and faculty, and the universities that recognize Esports as a varsity level program enable players to compete for a national championship. In less formal settings, Esports might be thought of similar to intramural sports, or be student-run club level teams, like Rec Well or Student Life. Collegiate teams can compete in other leagues. Universities feature Esports as a recruitment tool. ESports might have a similar influence for K-12 open enrollment. Beyond gaming, players maximize Esports to develop their own business acumen - complete with social media marketing, analytics, coaching, blogs, analyzing competition film, networking, and IT infrastructure. Being an Esports player or working in an Esports league as an analyst, IT, etc., has parallels to an internship in marketing and IT. WHAT SHOULD PARENTS AND SCHOOL LEADERS KNOW ABOUT ESPORTS? Esports is broadly popular, but specifically offers opportunities for a school’s under-represented students. For some students, Esports is the only extracurricular activity they participated in during their school career. And there’s evidence to suggest that playing Esports improved student’s grades and attendance. Esports aligns with the CDC’s themes for School Connectedness. At Arrowhead Union High School (Wisconsin), 60-70 students stay after school on Fridays to play Esports. Parents drop off TVs and students even play under tables. Esport players are voluntarily participating in-person with their peers. They are not sitting at home in their basement. Esports participants learn play-by-play announcing, media coaching, post-game interviewing, and public speaking skills. Esports has helped students obtain scholarships. One student received a 60% scholarship. He was an athlete on the autism spectrum. “If you leverage this program correctly, you can do a ton with it.” The National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors works to serve, legitimize, and advance Esports at all levels https://www.naecad.org/about-naecad. Mankato University (MN) presented at the NAECAD conference. It’s ranked as the top school for broadcasting. An Esport player's next step could be to form a broadcasting club, or to pursue a career in broadcasting - perhaps by attending Mankato University. MORE THINGS SCHOOLS SHOULD CONSIDER ABOUT ESPORTS. Some games include cartoon guns, a disqualifying feature per some school districts. Student data privacy is a concern. What is on the networks? Is there an in-game chat feature, and if so, how do we turn it off? The Esports launching software can present challenges. The games themselves are efficient, but the system to access the game can be buggy. Schools should create separate Esports logins on computers and also toggle settings so Esports can’t be accessed until after 2PM. Esports is inclusive, and also an equity-oriented activity. You don’t need expensive gear and to pay a sports fee to participate. You also don’t have to rent expensive facilities. Esports increase opportunities for students both as players as well as other niche roles, such as announcing, communications, web design, and IT. There isn’t a Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) prohibition clause in Esports. Although it is rare, a high school Esports player could enter into paid sponsorship deals - and by doing so, wouldn’t have to forfeit their eligibility to play Esports. Esports can be included in the school district’s DPI 5-year Pupil Nondiscrimination report as increasing extracurricular opportunities for students. It is particularly inclusive for students with disabilities or students without the financial means to participate in activities that have higher barriers to entry for personal equipment costs, facility rentals, and participation fees. Esports teams can consist of a mixed-gender roster. Consider formal club recognition for Esports to facilitate a funding account in your school district’s fiscal chart of accounts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 195 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 11-22-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
The Safety Doc welcomes attorney Lisa Linney back to show! Lisa was the guest on episode 157 and discussed the complex factors in play when parents sued school districts over masking or remote learning during the pandemic. In this show, she helps us understand the ‘law of necessity,’ or breaking a law or laws for an anticipated greater good. For example, what if you had to trespass in order to save someone from drowning? Lisa will also navigate the intersection of the ‘law of necessity’ and the civil-immunity granting Good Samaritan laws. How might the government better educate citizens about these types of laws? Should there be a “Good Samaritan Day?” Lisa discusses these issues on the show, but this discussion is not intended to be legal advice. ABOUT LISA LINNEY. Lisa Linney is a Texas attorney with over ten years of litigation experience. In the past year, she has focused on research and writing for litigation and transactional matters. She works from her home in Houston with her nine cats. It’s a long story. IS IT OK TO TRESPASS WHEN SEARCHING FOR A LOST PERSON? The initial person in charge of a search might not be from law enforcement or the fire department. It might be a school principal or the shift supervisor at an assisted living center. Especially in rural areas, several minutes might pass before emergency responders arrive on scene. Is it OK to trespass if searching for a lost person? To answer this, we need to become familiar with the "Law of Necessity." This is a legal defense in both common and criminal law. The 'necessity' definition in law is a defense that arises when a person is forced to break the law in an emergency situation to prevent a greater harm from occurring. If a child with autism is lost and wandering near a river, it is presumed that a 'reasonable' person would believe that harm or death might be a reasonably-expected outcome. The trespass, in this situation, would be of much greater societal value than a mere property trespass is detrimental. While this response is not legal advice and there's no way of determining how a fact finder would interpret one's application of the 'Law of Necessity,' it is essential that persons with discretion and ability to commit assets to a rescue effort not be hamstrung by the 'what-ifs' consequences of inaction. LAW OF NECESSITY. Necessity has been around for a very long time in common law. Most states also have statutes that address necessity as an available affirmative defense. It is a common defense in property law regarding trespass, but it is also present in criminal law as well. An affirmative defense must be brought up by the defendant and proven by the defendant, in order for it to apply. If it is successful, it becomes a complete defense to the crime and the defendant cannot be charged. Necessity is a defense that sometimes precludes liability for breaking a law, if it is more advantageous to society to do so. WHAT THE COURTS LOOK AT. “The courts do not look at the person's, who is acting, state of mind, but what the value of their actions are to society. The defendant is not arguing that they did not commit the crime, but that it was necessary to avoid a greater harm. Is it better to commit a trespass to save a life? Normally, the answer is yes (Cull, 2022)” Per attorney Lisa Linney, the following areas might help school leaders to better understand the elements of a Necessity Defense: (1) The elements of the tort of “intentional trespass to real property,” which is what a plaintiff has to prove. (2) Defenses: in Texas, some of the defenses are statute of limitations, immunity (not available for employees), plaintiff’s fault, consent to enter, and privilege to enter (Necessity Defense concept). (3) Damages available to a plaintiff. (4) Cost-benefit analysis, and (5) Liability if the searcher is injured while on private property. GOOD SAMARITAN LAWS. Good Samaritan laws are similar to the concept of the Necessity Defense. Good Samaritan Laws are in all states, but they vary from state to state. But, the contexts of “scene of emergency or accident” or “emergency care” are often noted in states’ Good Samaritan laws. In Wisconsin, under current law, any person who renders emergency care at the scene of any emergency or accident in good faith is immune from civil liability for the person’s acts or omissions in rendering such emergency care. [s. 895.48 (1), Stats.] Known as the “Good Samaritan” law, the provision encourages members of the public to aid others who need prompt emergency care, without fear of being sued. REFERENCES. Cull, Traci. (2022). Necessity Defense in Law - Elements, Definition, and Examples. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 194 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 11-15-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Can I make a citizen’s arrest? What are the implications of taking matters into your own hands? How might you defend your decision to a judge or jury? The Safety Doc welcomes the Legalman to this episode to address those questions and to delve into the Legalman’s perspectives, juries, voting, political propaganda, and government overreach. ABOUT THE LEGALMAN. Legalman’s website states, “Forget left v right. This is the truth about the system from a man who knows. The Quash (podcast) is hosted by a lawyer with 30 years of experience. He unmasks the absurd false narratives we've been immersed in 24/7 since birth and laughs at them. There's a reason nothing about the system ever makes any sense. You've been lied to your whole life. But that ends now. Learn more at https://the-quash.captivate.fm/ CAN I MAKE A CITIZEN’S ARREST? Per the Village of Bayside, Wisconsin website, “Wisconsin doesn’t actually have a specific statute regarding citizen’s arrests, but such arrests are covered by common law or judge-made law. Those laws allow citizens to make arrests under one of two conditions. The first is when a citizen has probable cause to believe that the person they are arresting has committed a felony. The second is when someone witnesses a misdemeanor and the misdemeanor is a breach of the peace. Generally, we don’t advise making citizen’s arrests. We do advise calling police and staying on the scene if it’s safe, but safety is paramount. If someone is wielding a knife or attacking someone, he or she may just as easily attack you. Some exceptions apply, particularly when the perpetrator is going to flee. For example, if you see a child being kidnapped and can block the kidnapper’s car from getting away with the child, it may be worth the risk. In addition to safety concerns, you also face legal risks when making a citizen’s arrest. The Fourth Amendment restricts unreasonable searches and seizures, and you could be prosecuted for depriving someone of their constitutional rights. You could also face a civil lawsuit for false imprisonment, assault, or battery.” JURY TRIAL - THE LAST BASTION OF HOPE? In episode #43 of The Quash, the Legalman explains how the jury trial is a piece of the political structure of this country. How has the jury American trial changed over time, and what obstacles are between a citizen and impartial legal due process? What are the differences between what most people perceive as impartial justice and actual court-delivered “justice” as observed by a lawyer with 3 decades of experience? FULLY INFORMED JURY ASSOCIATION. Legalman urged people to increase their knowledge about jury trials, noting that, as an example, learning from Fully Informed Jury Association, www.fija.org might empower jurors’ awareness of their right to refuse unjust law. As stated on FIJA’s website, “We will be looking at numerous aspects indicative of the health or lack thereof of jury systems nationwide. We will evaluate the rules as officially spelled out, as well as their functionality in practice, of juries at the federal level, in all fifty states, and in Washington, D.C. with respect to each of these jury health indicators.” People can subscribe, at no cost, to obtain emails from FIJA centering on what’s happening in and around their community. HOBBES’ LEVIATHAN. Government overreach is a theme in The Quash podcasts, and it was also depicted in Doc’s book, School of Errors - Rethinking School Safety in America. Doc wrote about the Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651) and the social contract. Hobbes’ premise was that people functioned optimally with some basic level of a “sovereign” to facilitate order. But, Hobbes also opined that it was predictable human nature that the governed would progressively surrender their rights (and freedoms) in exchange for progressively more control from the government. Or, the people in power would be unwilling to relinquish it. “To Hobbes, people are plagued by these two forces: the desire for power and everyone else’s annoying desire for power. Everyone would be all for power struggles if they could just concentrate on conniving, but watching your back is a pain in the neck (it would be centuries before Sartre sputtered that “hell is other people,” but surely this is a precursor). A few people enjoy constant drama, but most would rather be left alone if they can’t have all the pie. Therefore, power tends to coalesce into a formal government because most people can’t be bothered to micromanage their power relationships to everyone and everything around them—they would rather outsource that headache, thank you very much (School of Errors, 2019).” SAFETY DOC WEBSITE, BLOG & BOOKS: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. This podcast and blog post represent the opinions of David P. Perrodin and his guests to the show. This is episode 193 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 11-11-2022.
Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Books:
- School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com
- Velocity of Information - Human Thinking During Chaotic Times. www.velocityofinformation.com