NEA-NH applauds the Senate’s action passing SB 556 today, that, among other things, requires school safety programs to contain a plan for responding to violent acts, reporting all acts of violence, and utilizing the joint loss management committee each district already has in place to address protocols for employees to follow.
“Last year we came to the legislature to support the formation of the study committee because day after day we heard heart breaking story of New Hampshire educators being injured by students,” said Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire. “Today’s students, through no fault of their own, are coming to school with behavioral issues stemming from trauma at home. The results in our schools, especially over the last several years have been profound. As that report indicated, we have heard stories about eye gouging, broken bones, strangulation, and attacks with objects as small as pencil and as big as a chair,” continued Tuttle.
NEA-NH believes there is a great deal of work to be done to get at solving the root causes of this violence, but this bill is a big first step in better protecting students and educators in our schools when these incidences occur.
Schools need to have safety plans and protocols in place for everyone who is interacting with students. We believe the joint loss management committee approach included in this bill will help produce procedures that work for each particular school district.