Schools Contend Ohio's Recinded Safety Law Will Not Harm School Safety

Many school incidents have highlighted the need for increased school safety. Few readers have not heard about the bloody massacre at Columbine High School. I have spent seven years working in the fields of emergency response and management. The last three years were spent predominantly in the field of school safety. I have conducted hundreds of school safety assessments. Shooting gain a large amount of media attention; however, they are only one potential school safety hazard. That is why the repeal of Jarod's law demanded my attention.

Jarod's law was not meant to stop or prevent school shootings. It was geared towards a problem with the potential to be even more widespread. McCloud described the tragedy that prompted Jarod's law as, "On December 19, 2003, six year old Jarod Bennett was killed in school by a mobile, folding cafeteria table." This tragedy could have been avoided.

In 2005, Governor Bill Traft passed Jarod's law. Jarod's was named after Jarod Bennett. Jarod's law required many steps aimed at making school's safer. Under this law, a School Health & Safety Network would be created, Ohio State Board of Health would conduct yearly inspections of every school, and any item that was not acceptable would require the school to create a plan and timeframe for fixing the deficit. Jarod's law was celebrated as a giant leap forward in school safety.

In 2009, Ohio legislature reversed itself on Jarod's law. In August 2009, the Ohio legislature repealed Jarod's law. Advertiser-Tribune.com described the legislature's reasoning for repealing the law as, "State Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, had taken the lead in the Ohio House of Representatives in seeking more review of the law and said Jarod's Law was general. Officials got carried away when drawing up the rules, and the Ohio Department of Health adopted rules that were nonsensical, he said." Complaints included schools that complained they were required to remove Teddy Bears from classrooms and carpeting from some areas. Legislators also cited budget problems with the laws cost. Without Jarod's law, school officials were told to work with their local public health department's to continue safety inspections.

Some Ohio school districts are adament that the repeal of Jarod's law will not affect school safety. Medina county school officials have moved forward with improvements that were identified in last year's safety inspection. Cleveland.com described Medina County's improvements as, "the district completed several projects that were addressed in Jarod's Law. The cafeteria tables were secured, there were additional walk-off mats at entrances, non-student areas were secured, cleaning products and dispensers were standardized, chemical and supply storage were modified, the interior lights were upgraded, the playgrounds were modified and more inspections were required. He said costs for these projects alone cost the district more than $70,000 from the permanent improvement and sales tax funds."

Whether we are discussing emergency management or health and safety, any program is only as good as its implementation. Jarod's law required the Ohio Board of Health to draw up rules and conduct the school inspections. The repeal of Jarod's law removed all language that had been drafted. Ohio Board of Health no longer lists recalled products or drafts rules to standardize school inspections.

Repealing Jarod's law leaves a void in school safety. Without standarized rules to govern school safety, each Ohio school district will have to decide what standards to use. To most people, this sounds simple enough. School districts blur the line between health and safety and emergency management. Schools must ensure that kids are safe from health and safety hazards such as exposed electrical wires, bolts sticking out of the wall in Kindergarten classrooms, and choking at lunch. Schools must also provide for security hazards such as small explosive devices being inserted above drop ceilings, children being abducted form the playground, and school shootings.

Help is not always easy to find. Since 2001, hundreds (if not thousands) of school safety contracting companies have opened up. It seems that schools would be able to use one of these firms to ensure their school's safety. Many of these companies are staffed with former law enforcement officers. These officers have a vast knowledge of security issues. Many have probably responded to school shootings or bomb threats. However, school safety is much more than just security. Their knowledge of dealing with special needs children, health regulations, AED laws, fire hazards, and environmental health is much less, if they have any at all.

Financial considerations may also hinder school's choices. Anytime you speak of hiring a contractor, financial considerations will play a role. Any contractor is going to want to get paid. Often, these contractors may charge $2,000 to $4,000 or more for each school safety assessment. This cost is not per district but per school. Many schools may find it very difficult to squeeze this extra cost from their budgets.

Even if they do find the money for security assessments, they still need to update their Emergency Operations Plans. Yet another task that the school must either cultivate the experience to complete or hire a contractor to do. Finally, there are the costs of making any needed safety improvements.

Federal government has made money available through the US Department of Education's REMS grants. Each year the Department of Education accepts applications for another round of grants. However, one factor considered is the number of school buildings and the amount of money requested. For example, a school district with 80 schools that requests $240,000 is requesting $3,000 per school. This makes it very difficult for small districts to get the amount of money necessary.

Jarod's law provided the legislative backing and money to conduct yearly school assessments. Every school in Ohio was given a yearly school assessment. This ensured that every school would have a chance to see what potential safety and security hazards they faced. Without Jarod's law, each school district will have to decide whether or not to conduct yearly school assessments. The financial cost of this may leave smaller school districts by the wayside.

References
Law's demise leaves unclear future of school safety inspections. November 2009. Cleveland.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2009 from http://blog.cleveland.com/medinasun/2009/11/laws_demise_leaves_unclear_fut.html
McCloud, Linda M. Jarod's Law Should Be Established in Every State. January 2006. Associated Content. Retrieved on November 8, 2009 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17310/jarods_law_should_be_established_in.html?cat=25
Jarod's Law repealed in state budget. August 2009. Advertiser-Tribune.com. Retrieved on November 8, 2009 from http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/content.detail/id/516751.html