Minutes-09-19-2023-Business Meeting

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6 Commissioner Hamilton said her understanding is there was an issue of getting students to and from meetings, so that's why one of the recommendations is to have surveys to get additional students' perspectives. Vice-Chair McKee added that the task force varied the times and locations of meetings to try to accommodate members. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if any meetings were held during the school day. Commissioner Hamilton and Vice-Chair McKee said no. Commissioner Hamilton said Greg Wilder and Jay Bryan were great to work with. She thanked them both for their unique contributions to the task force. She said while this was a good task force experience, it wasn't perfect. She said that one of the downfalls of the task force was not having more student input, and the schools did what they could to get student representatives. Commissioner Hamilton said there was discussion about meeting at the schools, but law enforcement members of the task force were concerned about the safety of students. She said she learned a lot through this experience, and it was great to have the law enforcement and school safety experts. She said for the most part, the county, school districts, and law enforcement are already doing what is considered best practice around school safety, but there is opportunity for more clarity and to share information with the public to the extent possible. She said she supports the task force recommendations, thinks they are doable, and they keep a process going to help them all be better able to respond in the future. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how all stakeholders being aware of the boundaries of school property will keep students safe. Commissioner Hamilton said there are a lot of components to consider when establishing physical boundaries of school properties and it isn't always clear. She asked John Roberts to weigh in. John Roberts said Commissioner Hamilton was correct--there is a question of where school property ends and the public right of way adjacent to the property begins. He said a member of the public may be on the sidewalk, but for a road, it isn't always clear how far into the road the school's right of way extends. Commissioner Hamilton said that is why the recommendation is there to figure out those boundaries so that law enforcement is aware and can limit people crossing over that line. Vice-Chair McKee said some of these recommendations may seem vague, but there were often even more questions after receiving presentations and information from experts. He said this will remain a living document and be open to interpretation, amendment, clarification, and revision so that it can grow and respond with the needs at the time. Vice-Chair McKee highlighted that the well-being of students was a focus throughout all the task force's discussions. Commissioner Fowler said establishing the physical boundaries of schools is a critical action item and asked who it has been assigned to. Vice-Chair McKee said he thinks it will fall to the school district to define where the property limits are. Commissioner Fowler said this information could be incorporated into the schools' annual safety plans. Commissioner Hamilton agreed that this does need to be assigned to someone to complete. To add to her response to Commissioner Portie-Ascott's early question about ensuring safety, she said the laws on books don't protect emotional distress. She said law enforcement can act if actions disrupt the school day or school operations. She said having an expert to explain that an annual meeting is critical so that everyone understands this is a limit, but also knows there is a plan in place in case that does happen. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how this information can be communicated to parents and to students to show that they are doing all they can to keep them safe. Commissioner Hamilton said she believes the annual meeting can result in information that is disseminated to the broader community, including parents and students. She said she