Emotional support animals (ESAs) in schools can present a number of challenges. Here are some of the most common:

Insurance policies are either written as an Occurrence Policy or Claims-Made Policy.

Employees returning to work after a work-related injury can face many restrictions and hurdles during their reintegration into the workplace. These restrictions may include modified duty, physical limitations, and mental health. Most employers are willing to provide modified duty for their employees who have been injured on the job, as it provides an opportunity for the employer to support their employees and help them ease back into the workforce.

Whether you work from home or on campus, the biggest part of your safety on the job is up to you! Taking your role seriously in preventing accidents and using good ergonomics will help you avoid most issues that result in painful and time-consuming injuries. Paying attention to the basics of personal job safety is fundamental to a healthy and secure workplace for all.

The California Education Code authorizes and encourages school districts to make their facilities available for community use. From recreational activities, youth development organizations, musical and theatrical performances, and celebrations, outside use of your school grounds and amenities is a mutually-beneficial outreach to your neighbors. Opening your facilities for use outside of school hours does require you to exercise normal care to maintain safe conditions and reasonable control of risks to your property and the people who use your schools.

During 2022 to date, nearly two mass casualty events occurred each day in the U.S. The devastating loss of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas in May, punctuate the challenges of student safety in school facilities. While every risk cannot be eliminated, there are positive measures you can take to make your schools a safer environment for pupils and staff.

Among the public health impacts associated with the COVID pandemic, a general increase in stress and mental health issues has emerged in its wake. At your schools; staff, students, and parents have likely been affected by a lack of socialization, economic difficulties, grief, fear, long-term illness, or uncertainty. Many of you are also dealing with staff shortages, which place increased burdens on your available employees, and the resulting stress may sometimes lead to a rise in injuries and illnesses.

Insurers are paying attention to the measures governmental agencies take – or fail to take – in protecting their information technology (IT) systems and stored data. Looking toward the future, you may be facing a July 1 deadline from your liability insurer requiring that you have basic levels of cybersecurity protections in place or risk losing your coverage for cyber related breaches. Implementing procedures for accessing computer resources involving multi-factor authentication (MFA) can make your school’s or public agency’s network as much as 99% less vulnerable to unauthorized intrusion, according to Microsoft.

California’s mandate of COVID vaccination for both students and staff, imposes a responsibility on your district to verify compliance with the requirement. Anyone working on your campus must provide their COVID vaccination status following the California Department of Public Health order issued August 11, 2021:

The crisis of the unhoused is no longer a hidden issue. We have seen an unprecedented proliferation of transient encampments with related trespassing, property damage, illicit and hazardous waste exposures. Law enforcement agencies are reporting increases in both violent and non-violent crimes attributable to the unhoused population.