Giving Compass' Take:

· According to Mark Keierleber at The 74, the Trump administration's School Safety Commission has recommended repealing the Obama-era school discipline guidance and implementing more physical security.

· Has the Obama-era discipline guidance been an effective approach? How would increased physical security change the school atmosphere?

· Here are four steps for improving school safety and security. 

In a highly anticipated but controversial move, the Trump administration’s school safety commission recommended on Tuesday the repeal of Obama-era school discipline guidance that pushed schools to reduce their reliance on suspensions and warned them that racial disparities in punishments could violate federal civil rights laws.

The recommendation is one of many in a new report released by the Federal Commission on School Safety, chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and created after the February mass school shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Conservative education pundits have been calling on DeVos to rescind the discipline guidance since long before the massacre, and observers on both sides of the debate expressed surprise it has taken her so long to act. Still, Tuesday’s move inspired a fierce backlash from some teachers and civil rights groups who argue the administration is turning its back on black students who are disproportionately punished.

The 177-page report follows months of meetings and school visits featuring psychologists, campus-based police, school leaders, and other stakeholders. On the whole, it dodges calls for stricter gun laws and instead emphasizes defensive measures, such as arming school staff, increasing the presence of school-based police, and “hardening” school buildings with physical security like bullet-resistant windows.

Read the full article about school safety by Mark Keierleber at The 74.