Agenda 11-02-23; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 1 2 Presenters to the Task Force included: 3 • Karen Fairley, Executor Director of the Center for Safer Schools, an agency within the NC 4 Department of Public Instruction 5 • UNC Law School Professor Mary-Rose Papandrea regarding the First Amendment and 6 the Constitution 7 • John Roberts, County Attorney for Orange County Board of Commissioners 8 The agendas and meeting summaries for Task Force meetings are available at: 9 https://www.orangecountync.gov/AgendaCenter/Search/?term=&CIDs=38,&startDate=&endDat 10 e=&dateRange=&dateSelector= 11 12 Based on the information gathering efforts, presentations and discussion, the Task Force 13 developed the attached Final Report including nine (9) recommendations (see page 7 of the 14 Report). 15 16 Greg Wilder, Assistant to the County Manager for Legislative Issues, reviewed the 17 background information for this item. He invited retired District Court Judge and task force 18 facilitator, Jay Bryan, to make comments. 19 Jay Bryan thanked the Board for the opportunity to serve as facilitator for this task force 20 and said he enjoyed working with Commissioner Hamilton and Vice-Chair McKee as co-chairs, 21 as well as Greg Wilder. He said the Board's wisely chosen task force members brought a wide 22 array of perspectives and expertise. He shared the topics discussed at each meeting and 23 reviewed the recommendations from the task force: 24 1. Annual meetings of the Task Force or other group be convened by the BOCC to review 25 policies that address safety in the school districts and provide education on laws 26 addressing school disruptions. 27 2. Quarterly meetings of school staff involved in school safety issues and law enforcement 28 to continue to be held to discuss coordination and communication regarding safety. 29 3. The physical boundaries of each school in the school districts be identified and shared 30 with stakeholders, including law enforcement, emergency management, school staff, 31 parents, and others involved in school safety. 32 4. Assessments of improvements to school buildings regarding safety as well as funding for 33 such improvements be continued. 34 5. Law enforcement, schools, and emergency management continue to follow Standard 35 Response Protocols and evaluate approaches that are individualized for each school. 36 6. The roles of SROs, teachers, and staff be clearly communicated among all stakeholders. 37 7. Annual surveys of teachers and students' perceptions of safety and disruption of schools 38 be promulgated and evaluated for promoting safety. 39 8. Common definitions and accessible language for terms and first responder codes involved 40 in school safety (i.e.., "disruption", "external threats", "lockdown") be developed for both 41 school districts and the community. 42 9. Outreach should continue a coordinated basis with the public about how the community 43 can support school safety. 44 45 Commissioner Hamilton said this was a good task force experience. She said there is 46 amazing expertise in this community, and it was present on this task force. She specifically 47 recognized the student representative that participated and highlighted the importance of their 48 perspective. 49 Commissioner Richards asked why only one student participated.