February 22, 2018

The National PTSA advocates for Gun Safety and Violence Prevention

Given National PTA’s history of advocacy for the safety of children and youth, National PTA supports federal efforts to protect children and youth from gun violence. National PTA also advocates restricting access to guns from persons who may endanger public safety.

School safety is a critical priority for all parents, educators, students and community members that cannot be taken for granted. We must make every attempt to reduce violence, especially incidents that involve firearms. National PTA recognizes the importance of parent involvement in the decision-making process in the development and implementation of school safety policies, including crisis response plans.

National PTA recognizes the importance of a safe learning environment in attaining the highest level of student learning and achievement. National PTA believes the most effective day-to-day school climate to be gun-free, but defers to local collaborative decision-making to allow for the presence of law enforcement deployed in community-oriented policing.

Examples of ways to improve youth safety and to restrict guns to only responsible owners include advocating for the following:

• gun safety locks and other safety devices to prevent young children from accidentally discharging a gun
• alternative educational settings for youth who have brought a firearm to school, along with appropriate evaluation and counseling
• restrict Internet gun sales, including kits that can be used to make/modify guns
• enforce federal and state minimum age requirements for handgun purchases
• raise the minimum age to 21 to be allowed to buy a handgun from non-licensed dealers
• allow at least three business days to conduct background checks
• require non-licensed dealers to conduct background checks and fill out proper paperwork so that guns can be traced
• increase penalties for the transfer of handguns or semiautomatic assault weapons to juveniles for use in a crime
• revoke the license of dealers who knowingly sell to minors
• establish education programs to teach students, parents, and community members about gun safety and violence prevention
• prevent juveniles who commit violent crimes from buying guns as adults
• support state and federal funding initiatives for the research of the causes and effects of gun violence

These and other measures are some of the ways National PTA believes that gun violence can be decreased in order to make our schools, as well as our communities, safer. National PTA believes we must enact legislation that will reduce gun violence and help protect all children and youth.

Adopted by the 1999 Board of Directors

Amended by the 2013 Board of Directors

Amended by the 2016 Board of Directors

Here are some additional links to PTA published positions and resources:

Additional Resources

• California State PTA Position Statement “Firearms and Assault Weapons”
• California State PTA Position Statement "Student Participation in Public Demonstrations"
• National PTA Position Statement “Gun Safety and Violence Prevention”
• Checklist to Prevent Violence in Schools
• National PTA FAQs on Gun Violence
• National PTA Press Statement
• Talking Points for PTAs – Gun Violence and Student Voice
• Proposition 63 "The Safety for All Act of 2016" Support Full Analysis

Message from SFUSD regarding School Safety

Read this letter in: Español | 中文 | عربي | Tagalog | Tiếng Việt

February 23, 2018

Dear SFUSD Community Members:

We share in the collective grief and concern following the most recent mass shooting at a school in Florida (and the other senseless tragedies that occurred prior). Parents, students and educators are asking what we can do to prevent this from ever happening again. I want to update you regarding our safety plans and preparations here in SFUSD.

Promoting safe schools

Schools have security measures to ensure the well-being of students and staff. While each school’s security system differs based on the size and layout of its campus and other factors, security measures may include: visitor check-in procedures, locked doors after the start of the school day, surveillance cameras, school resource officers and security aides.

Furthermore, actively cultivating strong relationships at school -- between students and students and students and adults -- is fundamental to safety and it’s something our schools do very well. Youth face a lot of challenges and need a range of trusted adults to support them. That’s why SFUSD has more school counselors and social workers per student than almost any other school district in the state. We believe it is part of our responsibility to cultivate students’ mental health and social-emotional well-being.

We also encourage awareness and swift reporting. Serious potentially life-threatening incidents have been intercepted by staff and students reporting concerns immediately. We will continue to emphasize: If you see or hear something that may cause someone to harm themselves or others, say something.

Preparing for potential emergencies

The district has a comprehensive crisis plan in the event of a city-wide emergency, and district administrators coordinate closely with city emergency management officials and law enforcement representatives to monitor and update school site specific plans on an annual basis.

All schools have emergency response teams and are asked to practice safety protocol drills at least three times per year. Schools partner with the SF Police Department (SFPD) to conduct Lockdown drills and we will continue to work with SFPD to make sure these types of drills take place in an age-appropriate way that helps ensure our students know what to do in the event that this type of incident should occur.

If an emergency does occur at a school, we will notify parents as quickly as possible using a variety of means including text, email and phone call. In order to receive messages, your child’s school must have your current contact information and you must opt-in to receive text messages (by law we cannot text you more than once without your permission). Once your mobile number is in the student information system, you will receive a message from SchoolMessenger. You can respond with a “YES.” If you received a message from SchoolMessenger and did not opt-in, it’s not too late. To receive emergency text notifications, text “YES” to 67587 from your mobile phone. Please note, this will only work if your mobile number is entered correctly in the district’s system already.

More information about SFUSD’s safety and emergency plans can be found here: http://www.sfusd.edu/en/safety-and-emergency-plan/overview.html

Supporting student leadership and community action

I am heartened to see young people and others across the nation speaking out and staging protests in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy and the government’s failure to regulate guns.

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, stricter gun laws have resulted in fewer gun deaths per capita. Fortunately, California ranks high for gun safety. However, we know that we are still not immune from the threat and we are part of a bigger society that, on the whole, is facing a serious problem.

There are differing viewpoints about how to prevent future school shootings. Our job as educators is to create a space where all viewpoints can be heard and critically examined. While we must remain non-partisan, we are not neutral. In SFUSD we share a core value of social justice and we support students in being agents of positive change in their communities, whatever that looks like to them.

Recent events can be teachable moments and moments for positive change. Staff have received resources for processing this tragedy with students and teaching meaningful standards-based lessons.

We expect there will be protests, some we may know of in advance and some we may not. If a student walkout or protest happens, school staff are advised to allow the students to peacefully protest. If students leave the classroom/school (walk out), staff must mark the student down for an unexcused tardy or absence. School administrators and local law enforcement will deploy appropriate resources to ensure that our students are safe and can protest peacefully. Additionally, we will do our best to inform students’ guardians in a timely manner if a student is not in school.

SFUSD has many practices in place to keep our students safe and we are committed to doing even more to prepare for the various types of crises that could occur. As a community, let’s continue to work together to be vigilant in ensuring that our schools here and across the nation are safe and nurturing learning environments.

Sincerely,

Dr. Vincent Matthews, Superintendent