NSTA WebNews Digest

Education News: Discipline and Safety

Kiera Wilmot Will Not Be Charged for Explosion at Florida School

5/16/2013 - Huffington Post
A central Florida teenager who was accused of igniting a chemical explosion on school grounds—and who became the subject of a grassroots social media campaign on her behalf—will not face criminal charges, authorities said Wednesday.

Kiera Wilmot Expelled: Scientists, Teachers Outraged By Harsh Punishment For Teen’s Experiment Accident

5/3/2013 - International Business Times
Scientists are tweeting and blogging in indignation in response to the story of a Florida teenager expelled from school and facing felony charges for a science experiment gone awry. Ken Roy, the director of environmental health and safety for the school district of Glastonbury, Conn., a safety adviser for the National Science Teachers Association, and a former science teacher himself, was taken aback by the harsh punishment.

Wilson Middle School Fire: Pennsylvania Law Doesn’t Set Lab Safety Standards

12/3/2012 - The Patriot-News
A recent incident brings up questions about what regulations are in place for school districts to follow to ensure students and teachers are safe. Science classroom safety is a two-pronged approach that involves teachers following common-sense practices and school districts adhering to legal standards in a laboratory setting, said Ken Roy, chief science safety compliance consultant with the National Science Teachers Association.

Fallout From a Lab Tragedy

1/4/2012 - Inside Higher Ed
Unprecedented criminal charges against U. of California regents and UCLA professor, stemming from a death, highlight importance of proper safety training.

Academy of Pediatrics Issues New Heat Guidelines for Student-Athletes

8/9/2011 - Education Week
The American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines recently for managing student-athletes in extreme heat. The new guidelines include 11 main suggestions for schools.

AP Program Joins Partnership for 21st Century Skills

7/15/2011 - THE Journal
The College Board's Advanced Placement Program has become a national member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a coalition of industry and education organizations focused on integrating technology into education.

At Campus Nuclear Reactors, Heads Are Cool

3/30/2011 - The Chronicle of Higher Education (requires subscription)
The tsunami-related damage to a Japanese facility prompts operators to emphasize the safety of their much smaller research reactors.

Texas May End Steroid Testing in Schools

1/31/2011 - The Boston Globe
The nation's largest high school steroids testing program may fall victim to budget cuts.

Kids' Science Kits May Take Hit from Safety Ruling

9/30/2010 - The Boston Globe
One of the tools that teachers use to get kids jazzed about science—hands-on science kits—could face an uncertain future amid a debate on safety.

Danger in School Labs: Accidents Haunt Experimental Science

8/17/2010 - Scientific American
Several headline-grabbing accidents have shone light on chronically poor safety records.

Bill Addressing Student Concussions Advances

4/28/2010 - The Boston Globe
With new medical research showing that successive concussions can have an increasingly damaging effect on the brain, Massachusetts lawmakers are pushing a bill that would limit how soon a student athlete can return to playing after suffering a blow to the head.

New Safety Rules for School Lunches Due by July

2/16/2010 - USA Today
By this summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will have launched its most sweeping safety reforms in a decade for the food it buys for school lunches.

More States Require ‘Green’ Cleaning Products

1/27/2010 - The Boston Globe
After a burst of legislation last year, 10 states including Connecticut, Illinois and New York require or encourage "green" floor waxes, window cleaners and other products in schools, according to Green Seal Inc., a nonprofit that certifies the products. Similar bills are expected to be debated this year in at least five states.

School Meals Need to Get Healthier: Report

10/20/2009 - Healthday.com
New guidelines are needed to improve the diets of U.S. school children, finds a new government report that would set maximum calorie counts for school breakfasts and lunches.

Nation's School Drinking Water Contains Toxins

9/25/2009 - Education Week
Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides, and dozens of other toxins.

GAO Audit: Schools Slow to Get Alerts about Tainted Food

9/22/2009 - USA Today
Federal agencies that supply food for 31 million schoolchildren fail to ensure that tainted products are pulled quickly from cafeterias, a federal audit finds.

State's Anti-Bullying Efforts Said to Be Working

9/21/2009 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Two bullying prevention programs are paying off for Pennsylvania children who were repeatedly teased and harassed at school, according to a study expected to be released in Pittsburgh in November.

Testing for Toxics at Schools Sparks Questions, Lawsuits

9/14/2009 - USA Today
Spurred by a USA TODAY investigation, many local health officials tested for toxics in the air near schools. Their discoveries raised questions in many communities about the effect of these toxics on children and led to lawsuits in some areas.

Schools Say No Knee-Jerk Flu Closures this Fall

8/28/2009 - The Christian Science Monitor
More than 700 schools closed last year, but that may not be the best thing to do. Other steps are being urged to protect public health.

Schools Offered Leeway in Handling Swine Flu

8/10/2009 - Education Week
Schools can remain open if they have confirmed or suspected cases of flu caused by the H1N1, or swine flu, virus unless there are large numbers of students at high risk, or so many absences that the schools cannot function, according to federal recommendations issued last week.

Unvaccinated Kids Getting Whooping Cough

5/26/2009 - WebMD
Children of parents who refuse to give them vaccines are more likely than fully immunized kids to get whooping cough, according to a new study. Researchers say the number of parents refusing to vaccinate their children is on the rise, and this study demonstrates the risk of the bacterial disease, also known as pertussis.

Bill Would Fund Internet Safety Education

5/26/2009 - eSchool News
A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced internet safety legislation that, if passed, would authorize roughly $175 million—$35 million a year for five years—for internet safety education and training to help make children, parents, and educators aware of proper online behavior and the dangers the internet poses.

US No Longer Advising Schools Close for Swine Flu

5/7/2009 - Associated Press
U.S. health officials are no longer recommending that schools close if students come down with swine flu, the government said. The CDC said parents should still make sure to keep sick children with flulike symptoms at home for seven days.

Panel: Technology Alone Can't Protect Kids Online

1/14/2009 - The Boston Globe
A task force charged with assessing technologies for protecting children from unwanted contact online has concluded that no single approach is foolproof and that parental oversight is vital.

In Several States, a Push to Stem Cyber-Bullying

1/2/2009 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
There is a push among states to pass laws aimed at clamping down on the student-spun harassment, intimidation, and threats coursing through the web. Most of the laws are aimed at school districts, requiring them to develop policies on cyber-bullying. At least 13 states have passed such laws, and a handful of others are considering similar measures.

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