Among the all the concerns we discuss with our school customers, the two most distressing topics are child sexual abuse and active killer incidents. As difficult as these subjects are, we put them at the top of our checklist because of the vital importance of doing all we can to protect our kids. Our specialists work closely with school administration and train staff on implementing best practices to keep students safe from both these dangers.

Giving school personnel the knowledge and tools for recognizing signs of child abuse, grooming behaviors by would-be predators and properly supervising students provides a strong deterrent against sexual assaults on campus. Coupling this training with effective policies about maintaining appropriate boundaries for staff-to-student interactions during the school day, for extracurricular activities and off campus. For the facilities, unlocked doors and rooms visible from hallways and the outdoors help protect children from those who seek to harm them.

But what about the measures we recommend protecting students from active killers at school? In this case, doors that lock from the inside of classrooms and rooms that provide an invisible hiding place are means of protection. In the instance of an armed assailant on campus, a teacher could inadvertently wind up alone with a single student in a confined place. In such a life-threatening event, is a staff member really going to think about a boundary policy?

Ferocious, dry winds are kicking up this week bringing dangerous fire weather to parts of California. The risks of wildfire, as we saw from last year’s devastation, reach from urban communities to the most remote mountains when Santa Ana conditions take hold. Protecting your school facilities against these powerful forces of nature reduces losses and helps make your community more resilient.

Keep Fuel Away
Clearing brush and debris around your facilities is essential to protect your buildings and creates a defensible space for fire fighters to do their work if a fire comes near. Pay attention to nearby trees and how they can throw off flying embers in your direction. Dispose of lawn and gardening cuttings promptly. Roofs, gutters and eaves need to be cleared of anything flammable that may have accumulated.

Keep Sparks Out
While clearing these areas, inspect for any maintenance needed to prevent embers from entering the building such as repairing roofing materials and screening vents. Windows should be shut when closing the facility each day, and especially when an evacuation is ordered. Buildings with exteriors constructed to resist fires are completely vulnerable if the smallest sparks can get inside.

About one-quarter of the 800,000 persons protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy live in California. DACA grants temporary lawful status and work permits to thousands of young migrants brought to this country through no choice of their own. In addition to many immigrant students currently enrolled in the state's public schools and colleges, approximately 5,000 teachers now working in California are also DACA recipients. The Trump Administration has attempted to dismantle DACA, but several court rulings have held off its discontinuation. 

California schools like yours could face major impacts if ending DACA's protections result in loss of enrollment, staffing, and state funding. If mass deportations occur, or many recipients leave school or employment fearing detention, it would disrupt the education of hundreds of thousands of students. 

Since 1982, following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Plyer vs. Doe, immigrant students have had Constitutional protection to receive a free public education regardless of status. Reinforcing the federal protections, California enacted AB 699 mandating equal rights and opportunities in California public educational institutions to all persons, regardless of their immigration status. AB 699 prohibits school officials and employees from collecting information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members, unless required by state or federal law. Local educational agencies were required to adopt such policies by July 1, 2018.

Many of us can recall a time when our class spent the day at a museum to study art or artifacts first-hand; perhaps there was a journey to explore the wonders of the natural world; maybe we remember proudly representing our school for an exciting competition. Today, you probably think about field trips from a different perspective. Your top priority is to keep your students safe while they are traveling off campus. 

The best way to protect students and your district is to exercise appropriate risk management. While California law waives all claims against a district, charter school, or the state from pupils and grown-ups participating in a field trip, you still have a mandatory duty to reasonably and diligently supervise students in protecting them from risk of injury. Districts can still be liable for field trip injuries caused by failing to properly supervise students. 

Because field trips typically include volunteer chaperones, such volunteers must be trained and clearly understand their responsibilities for watching out for the kids. Here are some of the essential guidelines to make sure volunteer chaperones know how to supervise the students and work with the supervising teacher:

There have been several school walkouts over the last few weeks; however, a nationwide protest is planned for March 14, 2018, the one-month anniversary of the shooting that took place on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A march on Washington is scheduled for March 24th. This is a Saturday and will not disrupt school. There is another school walkout planned for April 20th, the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Students are walking out of class to demand tougher gun laws in response to last week's deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida. 

The following are some steps to ensure the safety of students and staff in the event of a walkout:

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely on a bus – and back home – than traveling by car. While school buses are strongly regulated and protected by traffic laws, it’s people like you and I that make the real difference, taking our school bus safety to the next level. 

Bus drivers must be alert, unimpaired, and completely focused on their task to demonstrate the safe operation of the vehicle. Beyond just driving the bus, the driver must also maintain total awareness of the young people riding and surrounding their bus. Backing up a school bus is never a routine maneuver. Even with mirrors and rear-view cameras, blind spots still exist. A school bus going safely into reverse depends on people ensuring there are no children, grownups, or other obstructions anywhere the bus is backing. If possible, drivers should be assisted by others to confirm the area behind the bus is clear and safe to back up. 

Special Education students require additional attention. Safe use of the vehicle’s accessibility features is essential during pick up and at the destination. Bus operators with Special Ed students need to ensure their passengers and any of their mobility equipment are properly secured and remain so when the bus is in motion. While it’s important with any school bus being parked at the end of the day, with disabled students involved, the driver inspection of the vehicle’s interior is critical. The driver must walk the interior of their bus from front to back, to ensure no child is left behind. 

Maintenance is also a vital component to school bus safety. From taking care of tires, brakes, fluids, and electrical, to effective windshield wipers, clean windows and mirrors, maintenance staff and bus drivers should regularly communicate about mechanical condition. 

All of us who drive in our community have a part to play. Whether you drive into school or travel through neighborhoods around school bus stops, follow the rules of the road. It is illegal to pass a school bus, on either side of the road, while the bus is picking up or letting off passengers. Bad weather, bad traffic, distractions, and time pressures should never compromise how any driver shares the road with school buses. 

Unlike any other vehicle on the road, school buses are carrying something that can never be replaced – our kids.

As we return from the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s time to turn attention to the wet, cold and windy days that will be coming soon. While we got a short break for Thanksgiving, most schools will have a much longer closure for the latter part of December and early January. We encourage you to make sure your facilities are ready for the beginning of winter, when California gets most of its heavy weather. 

Now is the time to make an assessment and take steps to ensure your property can keep flooding and water intrusion at bay. Remind teachers and other staff responsible for securing their classrooms, gyms, workshops and offices to make certain all windows are closed when they leave for the day – especially on the day before winter break. Rain, wind and cold temperatures entering an open window create a potential for serious damage. Vents with operable closures in shop classes and maintenance facilities can also be avenues for allowing outdoor weather to come in. Be sure these openings are double checked before schools are closed. 

For schools located in mountainous and other colder climates, it’s important to consider how to manage heavy snowfall and ice accumulation. More than a few inches of snow on a roof can cause structural strain leading to problems like leaky roofs all the way to catastrophic failure. Use caution with sloped roofs where melting snow leads to icicle formation, or a layer of reduced friction resulting in a sudden collapse of snow off the roof that could injure someone. Finally, ice on walkways and parking lots may have to be mitigated before pupils and personnel return to campus. 

Even without precipitation, temperature variations can cause damage and create hazards. Water pipes exposed to freezing temperatures can burst, not just outdoors, but also within unheated buildings. Temperature monitoring should be employed in areas where this is a possibility and pipe insulation must be maintained. Thawing and refreezing conditions can cause buckling and breaking of paved surfaces which can become trip and fall hazards. 

Keenan can help you assess what you need to get ready your campus ready for winter and help you enjoy your holidays with less to worry about.

No doubt you have seen the colorful, dynamic new gadgets in the hands of kids, known as “fidget spinners.” They’re appearing suddenly, almost out of nowhere. You find them being sold all over the place – in stores, gas stations, and even from sidewalk folding tables or out of car trunks. More than likely, you have seen more than one spinning in your classrooms or the campus playground. 

Beyond just being toys students are bringing to school, they have created some controversy in the educational community. Fidget spinners are heavily marketed as devices to assist those with certain conditions and learning disabilities – including autism, performance anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – to improve focus and channel physical energy. To date, only anecdotal evidence and very limited research support such therapeutic claims. 

Schools have reacted to this sudden fidget spinner trend with everything from outright bans of the toys to actively supplying spinners to students they believe will benefit from using them. In developing policy and practice toward fidget spinners, it is important that schools consider the risk management aspects to keep pupils and staff safe. 

Some fidget spinners have been found to contain toxic substances including lead and phthalates; others have sharp edges or protrusions that have caused injuries; if they are disassembled or break, there are small pieces that are a choking hazard for young children. There are even lighted models containing lithium ion batteries that have burst into flames during recharging. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued specific safety guidance about fidget spinners to both consumers and manufacturers. 

Although they are designed to be held in the hand while spinning the rotor, fidget spinners can become dangerous flying objects. Whether users are trying to perform clever tricks or intentionally throwing them at others, there is a great potential for injury when fidget spinners leave the hand. Schools should specifically prohibit any behavior where the spinner becomes a projectile. 

While many teachers and administrators have been concerned the toys create classroom distractions, fidget spinners can also cause unsafe distractions for those spinning them. Just as a smartphone user can be more focused on the device than with driving or walking, someone focusing on the spinning toy can accidentally trip over uneven ground, run into obstructions, or walk into traffic. 

We can’t predict if fidget spinners are here to stay, or will be a quickly passing fad replaced by a new obsession in a few months. But school personnel need to be aware of the possible risks and, most importantly, act to keep everyone on campus safe.

Halloween can be a fun and exciting event for kids, dressing up as scary creatures or superheroes and collecting treats from the neighbors. It is also the date we see an annual peak in property crimes: vandalism, arson and burglary. According to a 2016 study by Travelers, property crimes average 24% higher on Halloween compared to any other day of the year. The Highway Loss Data Institute found that vehicles are twice as likely to be vandalized on October 31. These trends truly make Halloween a frightening night for schools. 

The following steps can help school districts make their facilities less attractive to young tricksters and malicious criminals this Halloween: 

Secure the Perimeter – Keep gates locked after school hours and be sure fencing is in good repair. 

Clean and Well Lighted – Remove any trash and weeds from grounds that could be easily set on fire. Lighting that keeps the area more visible will deter attempts to damage or break in to facilities. 

Have Dumpsters Emptied In Advance – Request an additional rubbish pickup if the regular schedule doesn’t coincide with Halloween. Keep bins locked at night and keep them away from buildings that can be damaged by a dumpster fire. 

Develop a Relationship with the Immediate Community – Get to know the neighbors around your school and encourage them to report any unusual activity they see happening around the school property. 

Utilize Signage to Signal Awareness – Discourage would-be vandals and burglars with signs indicating presence of surveillance and a commitment to prosecute property crime. 

Protect Vehicles – Where possible, keep them garaged or in gated yards a safe distance away from fence lines. 

If Property is Vandalized, Minimize the Impact – Clean up and restore damage as quickly as possible following an incident. Remove or mask graffiti right away to demonstrate that vandals’ handiwork will not be long lasting. 

Foster Pride in Your Schools – Give your student body a stake in the maintenance and attractiveness of their school. 

Your Keenan representative can help you assess your property risks and help you implement effective loss control steps to lessen your exposure to vandalism and arson.

The immense devastation caused by the recent hurricanes, Harvey, Irma and Maria, has been far more widespread than we have experienced in many years. The geographical sweep was cataclysmic, from the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana; large, highly-populated areas of Florida; the entirety of Puerto Rico and numerous Caribbean islands. The three powerful storms occurred in rapid succession and resulted in major damage or total loss to the homes and businesses of millions of people, severe disruption of utilities and community infrastructure, and sadly, too many human lives lost. 

Once the aftermath has been assessed, the costs will quickly eclipse those of Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012. What can we expect to see in the insurance industry as companies begin paying out billions in claims from these catastrophes? In the immediate wake of the hurricanes, a lot of investors pulled out of their insurance industry positions, sending some insurer stock prices downward. However, these market fluctuations are not likely to affect carriers’ ability to pay for covered losses. Lessons were learned from previous disasters and insurers are much better prepared for these unusually large losses than they were a decade ago. Most insurance companies have enhanced their surplus during the relatively quiet hurricane seasons, literally saving more for the “rainy days” that eventually come. In addition, more robust reinsurance arrangements limit how much exposure a carrier has to major – or multiple – loss events. 

Most of the impacts on the cost or availability of coverage will probably been seen regionally, in the areas directly affected by the storms. Property and vehicle premiums in states impacted by previous major hurricanes went up 12-20% on average in the year following the event. Premiums aside, the levels of insurance company surplus against their potential exposure to covered losses affects the supply of coverage available on the market. This is also known as “capacity,” and can potentially make it difficult to obtain needed insurance coverage at any cost. 

It will not be surprising to see overall property premiums affected somewhat, even far away from the paths of Harvey, Irma and Maria. Insurers must replenish their surpluses, and are going to be paying more to reinsure their risks in order to continue offering the amount of insurance needed not only by businesses and homeowners, but by schools and other public facilities supporting their communities.