Columbia, SC – State Superintendent of Education Molly M. Spearman issued the following statement commending the work of the Safe Schools Taskforce and announcing her support of their statewide recommendations.
“I am pleased to stand with law enforcement officials, parents, and teachers as we submit recommendations to the public to promote a safe, respectful school climate throughout South Carolina,” said Spearman. “The safety of our students is always our number one priority. School resource officers work hard to protect students across the state and we are grateful for their service. We believe that students must show the proper respect to our law enforcement officials. In turn, we expect law enforcement to return that respect to students, teachers, and parents.
“The purpose behind creating the Safe Schools Taskforce was to examine current school policies and educator and law enforcement training criteria. We recommend that a standard template be created for a Memorandum of Understanding between a school resource officer (SRO) and a school district, with annual reviews of this agreement. We are going to recommend guidelines to be presented to the State Board of Education for adoption, regarding the role of SROs in schools.
“Our department will provide access to best practice, evidence-based interventions for students, teachers, administrators, and SROs. For SRO training, we are recommending offering additional SRO training sites and including classroom management, positive intervention, cultural diversity, de-escalation, and crisis prevention (CPI) as part of this training.
“To assist new principals in their leadership roles, we will offer an overview of new discipline regulations along with positive intervention and frameworks during their initial training.
“We look forward to continued collaboration between the education and law enforcement communities to ensure a safe, respectful culture in all South Carolina schools,” concluded Spearman.
The taskforce met five times before adopting its recommendations; its final report is posted on our website. The taskforce members are:
Ms. Molly M. Spearman, State Superintendent of Education, Co-chair
Dr. Traci Young Cooper, State Board of Education, Co-chair
Mr. Tom Hudson, SC School Improvement Council
Ms. Joy Grayson, South Carolina Parent Teacher Association
Ms. Tanya Robinson, South Carolina Parent Teacher Association
Mr. James Blake, Northwestern High School
Ms. Zona Jefferson, South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators
Mr. Scott Price, South Carolina School Boards Association
Dr. Tiffany Richardson, South Carolina School Boards Association
Ms. Zina Harper, South Carolina Association of School Resource Officers
Mr. Cleveland Smith, Richland School District Two
Mr. Jarrod Bruder, South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
Major Roger Owens, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division
Ms. Beth Phibbs, South Carolina Association of School Administrators
Mr. Craig King, Palmetto State Teachers Association
Ms. Sherry East, The South Carolina Education Association
Captain E. J. Talbot, Jr., South Carolina Department of Public Safety
Mr. Robert Gantt, SCSBA, Lexington-Richland School District 5 School Board
Mr. Alan Walters, Georgetown County School District
Ms. Rita Yarborough, South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
Dr. Scott Turner, SCASA, Spartanburg School District 5
Sheriff Leon Lott, Richland County Sheriff’s Department
Ms. Trina Freeman, Public Charter School Alliance
Ms. Susan Beck, SC Council for Administrators of Special Education (SC CASE) and the SC Association of School Psychologists (SCASP)
Mr. Phillip Young, SC Association of School Psychologists (SCASP)
The final report and recommendations of the Safe Schools Taskforce can be found here.
