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