School safety was not on the committee agenda today, but we know the horrific event at El Dorado High School has been on our minds. Vickie Kreidel, teacher and President of the NEA of Southern Nevada said this. “The young woman who was attacked, her life will never be the same. You can’t cross your fingers and hope for the best. What happened shows that’s not going to work. They haven’t done enough. Whatever talks have happened is not enough. It is too late for committees. It is too late for town halls.”
The high-profile recent events are not new and not limited to Clark County or the 2013 shooting at Sparks Middle School, which took the life of teacher Michael Landsberry. NSEA has consistently heard alarming concerns about personal safety from our members across the state. That’s why we have a long history of engagement on the issue of educator safety and student disciplinary practice. NSEA spearheaded the creation of the progressive student discipline system decades ago and during the 2019 session, we were the only stakeholder group raising public concerns during the discussion of implementing restorative justice in AB168. Here are some of our public comments from the 2019 hearing on AB168.
"Unfortunately, there has been an increase in violence against educators in Nevada and across the United States. In 2016, 6% of teachers reported being physically attacked by a student from their school in the previous year. NSEA and our local affiliates have received numerous reports this year of assaulted educators with bruises, broken bones not to mention the emotional toll. We believe that a strong restorative discipline system would reduce incidents where educators sustain injuries. However, this system needs to be proactive, implemented district-wide, and will require much greater attention and significant new resources that are not reflected in AB168. Without this level of implementation, we fear that moving away from the no-tolerance policies could result in even less safety. Reduction of suspensions and expulsions is a laudable goal, but not at the expense of safety for violent offenses."
Last interim, NSEA proposed an Educator Bill of Rights to this committee to improve educator safety. Our proposal was largely disregarded. Since the pandemic, the situation in schools seems to have deteriorated further. A delayed and poor statewide implementation of AB168 has left many schools and school districts unsure about the student discipline system, opting for little to no student discipline at all. The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues. And a historic educator shortage, with thousands of vacant positions across the state in addition to the structural shortage with the largest class sizes in the country, makes it nearly impossible to implement even the best plans for school safety and student discipline.
NSEA’s Time for 20 campaign would address many of the underlying issues of the educator shortage and go a long way to improve school climate and culture. Meaningful resources for student mental health and a real investment in the implementation of the restorative justice system are long overdue. Educators across the state and our students need bold action now.
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