D.A. Singas to state: Upgrade school-violence reporting

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas is calling on the State Board of Regents to revamp New York’s school violence tracking system so gang attacks, discrimination and bullying are reported quicker.

According to Singas, it can take up to two years before incidents appear on New York’s Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting System. The state recently reworked the system, but Singas said any reforms made did not go far enough, arguing that they failed “to provide a framework that will facilitate timely, consistent and comprehensive reporting of school violence.

“In 2016, we should not settle for a system that provides parents and policymakers with sparse, inconsistent, two-year-old data,” Singas said. “Our kids deserve safe schools in which to learn, and we all deserve accurate and timely information about violent and disruptive incidents.”

Singas offered six recommendations to the Board of Regents, including:

Under the current system, reports of school violence are collected once a year, at the end of each school year. They become public in spread sheets two years later. Singas said the state should provide “real-time” reporting of violence.

Gang activity should be reported under the new system.

Discrimination, harassment or bullying because of a person’s race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation or gender should be reported in its own category.

Violence against students because of their “gender identity” or “gender expression” should be reported in its own category.

With the heroin epidemic raging across New York, particularly on Long Island, drug-related incidents should be reported in greater detail. The types of drugs involved should be included in the reporting.

All incidents of discrimination, harassment and bullying should be reported. Under the new system, only verified incidents are to be listed.

“There is literally nothing more important than protecting our children," said Jeanne Beattie, a State Board of Regents spokeswoman. "It’s impossible for a child to focus on learning if she goes to school in fear each day."

Proposed changes in the reporting system, Beattie said, "are intended to make the process of reporting violent and disruptive acts less complicated and to place a greater emphasis on violent offenses. The [Education] Department will carefully review and consider all of the public comments received.”

Rockville Centre superintendent Dr. William Johnson said the reports are on the district website and that they are required to keep records of anything that happens. As of now, the Board of Regents wants each issue classified in different categories.

Johnson wouldn’t take a stance on whether Singas’ ideas go far enough to eliminate school violence, but believes that communication and transparency are the keys to that goal.

“The whole idea is to prevent issues from occurring and the more that people know, I think that ultimately, the better off they’re going to be in better understanding, communicating with their families, communicating with their kids and making sure that these incidents don’t occur,” he said.

But he acknowledged that unforeseen threats will still exist no matter what plan is in place.

“We always worry about somebody walking into school with an issue that they need to resolve and do it through some other means that’s unacceptable to us,” he said. “At the end of the day, if information that’s gotten out there, through whatever the means, to a family and to kids that there are very serious consequences that may accrue as a result of that. To stop it, that’s all good news. At the end of the day, you don’t want it to happen.”

Johnson is confident that his personnel can handle any situation concerning school violence and that his district can play a big role in helping to curtail this ongoing issue.

“We have tremendous support services in (the high school) and in the school system for both families and for kids. If we can get them there first, then we’ve gone a long way in solving the problem.”