LOS ANGELES – City Attorney Mike Feuer today announced the final recommendations detailed in his School Safety report including the establishment of a District-wide School Safety Director, physical improvements to campuses, increased mental health resources, and safe firearm storage programs in order to keep students in Los Angeles safe. The report is a culmination of Feuer’s Los Angeles School Safety Blue Ribbon Panel hearings held across the city and developed with expert testimony and public input.
"Our School Safety Report is the final result of bringing together students, parents, educators, other stakeholders and experts to tackle one of the most significant issues of our time. Our Blue Ribbon Panel’s recommendations would make a real impact on school safety," said Feuer. "I look forward to continuing to work closely with educators, parents and residents across Los Angeles to translate these proposals into action and protect our kids."
The Panel’s eight public hearings were launched in April 2018 and have taken place in all of the LAUSD Board Districts, each featuring expert testimony and participation by authorities in education, public safety, gun violence prevention, trauma and mental health, public health as well as architecture and design. During this process, the Panel also thoughtfully listened and incorporated ideas from a diverse group of students, parents and administrators as well as leaders from business and faith-based communities.
Central to the Report’s recommendations is the creation of a School Safety Director within LAUSD to have wide-ranging responsibilities to oversee and implement all facets of the district’s school safety operations.
Coordinated school safety recommendations included in the Report include:
Establishment of a robust district-wide safe passage to school program
Coordination with law enforcement on gang and crime reduction in neighborhoods surrounding schools
Creation of a comprehensive safe gun storage project that assures parents know of their legal obligations to keep weapons at home safely stored
Establishment of uniform safety and structural procedures at all school campuses including a single entry point; interior locks on classroom doors; and two-way intercoms for teachers
Increase the number of mental health resources on campus including social workers and peer counseling programs
Creation of a single, easy to navigate, anonymous system of reporting threats, bullying and other dangers to schools. .
The Los Angeles School Safety Blue Ribbon Panel assembled by Feuer included:
Laura N. Chick (MSW), former Los Angeles City Controller
Juan Flecha, President of the Associated Administrators of L.A.
Antonia Hernández, President and CEO of the California Community Foundation
Joey Hernández, Policy and Mobilization Manager for the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Ben Holtzman, Student Member of the LAUSD Board
Jessica Lall, President and CEO for the Central City Association
Julia Macias, President of the LAUSD Superintendent's Student Advisory Council
Justice Carlos Moreno (ret.), former California Supreme Court Justice
Earl Paysinger, former LAPD First Assistant Chief; current Vice-President of Civic Engagement, USC
Michael T. Pinto (AIA), architect, educator and community activist
Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Dean and Professor at Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine
Rocio Ramirez, parent leader and PTA Vice President at Garvanza Elementary School
Rev. Kelvin Sauls, Member of Los the Angeles Homeless Services Authority Commission and former Pastor - Holman United Methodist Church
Greig Smith, former L.A. City Councilmember and current LAPD Reserve Officer
Krystal Torres-Covarrubias, Education Policy Manager at the L.A. LGBT Center
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Representative (one seat, will alternate):
Daniel Barnhart, Secondary Vice President of UTLA
Gloria Martinez, Educator and Elementary Vice President of UTLA
Dr. Garen Wintemute, Director - University of California Firearm Policy Research Center
Marleen Wong, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at the USC School of Social Work
Chief Steven Zipperman, Los Angeles School Police Department
Feuer has long been one of California's leading lawyers and lawmakers, having previously served as an L.A. City Councilmember and State Assembly member. For more than two decades he has led gun violence prevention efforts, and co-chairs the national coalition, Prosecutors Against Gun Violence.
A father of two LAUSD graduates, Feuer has long been an advocate for public schools. Shortly after becoming City Attorney, he launched the Neighborhood School Safety Program, now in 200 LAUSD schools, that works with various organizations and agencies to provide safe passages to and from school; create infrastructure improvements including increased lighting; eliminate areas where danger can lurk by trimming landscaping; and removing trash and debris from the school property and immediately surrounding areas to assure exits are clear and create conditions in which crime is less likely to occur. Feuer’s program also prosecutes cases arising on and off-campus.
Read the cover letter that is accompanying the School Safety Report.