We are now enjoying 7 amazing breakout sessions over 3 hours.  Only 2 more hours until the conference concludes!

Later today we will hear from Professor Joseph Tulman from the University of the District of Columbia about advocating for young client’s special education needs.

At lunch Mayor Annise Parker, the mayor of Houston, will be addressing conference attendees.  So many exciting sessions this afternoon!

Amid a deepening debate over appropriate school discipline, board members of the nation’s second largest school district — Los Angeles Unified — took bold steps this week sure to be noticed nationally.

They voted to prohibit out-of-school suspensions of students based on “willful defiance,” a vague label, critics say, that’s become far too handy a vehicle for ejecting students rather than helping them settle down and improve academic performance. The board members also voted to implement a sweeping review and new standards for the district’s sizable police force, which has a history of aggressive ticketing of students.

Federal Judge Rejects Challenge to D.C. School Closings, The School Law Blog – Education Week

A federal district court judge has rejected a legal challenge to a plan to close underutilized schools in the District of Columbia’s public school system, saying he found it “curious” that parents were seeking to keep children in schools that were academically “weaker” and “more segregated.”

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg said there was no evidence of intentional discrimination on the part of District of Columbia Schools Superintendent Kaya Henderson or others behind the plan to close 15 traditional public schools in the 45,000-student system. The plan is estimated to save some $8.5 million per year.

ADHD Most Prevalent Disorder in Report on Mental Health of Children, On Special Education – Education Week

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder leads the list of mental health issues captured in the first-ever report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intended to monitor the mental health of youth ages 3 to 17.

The report, which uses information compiled from several different monitoring sources, found that about 8 percent of the youth in this population had ever been diagnosed with ADHD, as reported by their parents. The next most-frequent mental health disorder was “behavior or conduct problems” at 3.5 percent, and anxiety at 3 percent.

Advocates Dispute Agency Finding on Sex Abuse of Juvenile Inmates, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released data from the 2011-2012 National Inmate Survey (NIS)on Thursday, revealing new findings about rates of sexual victimization in the nation’s prisons.

Some advocates claim that the new figures, however, may underreport the amount of juvenile inmate sexual victimizations that goes on in the nation’s jails and prisons.

 Justice Sotomayor Urges Immigrant Parents to Aid Their Children’s Education, The School Law Blog – Education Week

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told parents of English-language learners in New York City this week they must persevere in helping guide their children on the path to college and career success.

And such parents, many of whom are immigrants to the United States, should let their children help them adapt to American society and become lifelong learners, whether that means mastering English as a second language or computers, she said.

Bill Would Ban Smoking with Children in Vehicle, The Lowell Sun Online

BOSTON — Smokers who drive with children in their vehicles would no longer be able to light up under legislation being considered by lawmakers on the Public Health Committee.

State Rep. Paul Heroux, a freshman Democrat from Attleboro, wants to make it illegal to smoke with children in the car, citing health risks from secondhand smoke. Heroux said the proposed law could be enforced in a manner similar to the law banning texting while driving.

“I don’t need to tell you that alcohol use by young people is dangerous,” said Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator Robert Listenbee at a webinar held this week by the Interagency Coordination Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD.)

In a recorded message, Listenbee said alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the United States, stating that it played prominently in the nation’s youth homicide, suicide and violent crime rates. He also said that underage drinking has deleterious effects on education, leads many chronic users to unemployment and underemployment and may result in individuals graduating to more potent — and perhaps illegal — substances.

Two Major Juvenile Justice Bills Passed in Illinois Senate, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

On Tuesday, Illinois state senators passed two bills with potentially profound implications on the state’s juvenile justice system.

By a 40-10 vote, the Illinois Senate passed House Bill 2404, which would place young people in the state charged with felonies under the jurisdiction of juvenile courts as opposed to the adult system.

Currently, 17-year-olds in Illinois charged with felonies are automatically tried as adults. If the bill is signed into law, such youth would instead be tried, initially, in juvenile courts, where judges have greater ability to avoid handing out sentences that entail incarceration.

Natrona County Launches Juvenile Justice Data Collection Pilot Program, Casper Star Trubune

JACKSON — A program that organizes information on juvenile offenses in Natrona County may grow and help law enforcement efforts across Wyoming.

Software that makes it easier to collate the data was integrated into the program this year, and Park, Campbell, Sweetwater and Laramie counties expect to implement the program, according to Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Brian Christensen.

Christenson reported on the program’s progress to the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Interim Committee as it met in Jackson on Tuesday.

Both David Domenici and Kim Dvorchak recommended the National Conference of State Legislatures: Trends in Juvenile Justice State Legislature 2001-2011 as a resource for the juvenile defenders attending.

Currently Professor David Dow of the University of Houston Law Center is describing the life of a real death row inmate to illustrate how murderers become murderers essentially by their life circumstances as children, which are quite often shockingly abusive.  The room is silent, hanging on Professor Dow’s story.  Everyone would love to stop murder before it happens by changing the circumstances of our most vulnerable and abused children.

We are now hearing from Diane Vines of the Child Trauma Academy and the Children’s Assessment Center in Houston about brain science.  The brains of bused and neglected youth do not develop well and attachment does not form correctly.  As most parents realize, teens brains are not like adults.  Teens make poor decisions, especially those whose brain development was stunted by their abuse and neglect.

The almost 100 attorneys packed into this University of Houston Law Center classroom are enthralled.  Can’t wait for the legislative update from Kim Dvorchak of the Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition coming soon!

Updates on specific bills reviewed on the Center for Children Law & Policy blog:

HB 182 Reducing Penalty for Possession of Marijuana to a Class C Misdemeanor – This bill has been referred to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee where it will likely die.  Although this outcome was predicted, it is unfortunate for both juveniles and potential medical marijuana users.

HB 308 Permitting Recognition of “Traditional Winter Celebrations” in Public Schools – The most recent vote for HB 308 was 145 yes, 2 nos (Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman and Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler) and 2 non-votes.  A public hearing was held yesterday, Tuesday May 14, 2013.  I am concerned this bill may pass, maybe not until the next legislative session, but as it flies in the face of current Supreme Court precedent, the issue would be appealed and  most likely years later be struck down by the Supreme Court.

This issue is reminiscent of the Kountze, Texas cheerleaders who Judge Hardin Thomas ruled on May 8, 2013 are constitutionally able to have Bible verses on their cheering banners at public high school football games.  Almost everyone reporting on this believes Judge Thomas will be overturned.  So do I.  HB 308 may end up being similarly decided.

HB 1057 Limiting Sex Ed Instructors and Requiring Parental Permission for Sex Ed – HB 1057 was sent to the Public Education Committee who made a report and have provided a report to the Calendars Committee on May 1, 2013 to be put on the calendar for the whole House to consider.  As no votes have been taken yet it is hard to guess exactly where all the Representatives will fall.  However, I predict this issue will die before the end fo the session May 27th.

SB 1114 Eliminating School Tickets – The most recent verbal vote was 31 to 0.  A corrected Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Report has been “sent to calendars” or waiting to figure out a date to be heard by the whole senate.  The Center for Children Law & Policy is hopefully SB 1114 will be passed this session as this will help students avoid the juvenile justice process for minor infractions at school.

Texting and Driving Bills – Currently, several of the texting and driving ban bills have become inactive or are still pending in committees, including HB 27, 63, 69, 108 and SB 28,   However, HB 347 was on the calendar for today, Wednesday May 15, 2013.  The Senate voted 31 to 0 for the bill today.  The House passed HB 347 on April 23rd with 130 Yeas, 15 Nays, and 2 Present, not voting.  However HB 347 is NOT a comprehensive texting and driving bill.  This bill only prohibits drivers from using wireless devices on school property and in school crossing zones.

Although HB 347 is a good start for safer driving, the other bills were more comprehensive, banning texting and driving anywhere, and would be better in my opinion.

Texas is replacing its former TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) program with the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. The STAAR-Alternate program is for students with severe disabilities, and allows students to be tested on simpler tasks that correspond to academic standards. However, students who are tested on only the most basic tasks will not be counted as proficient under state and federal accountability standards.

That non-proficient rating will not affect the child, but it will affect the school. The article explains that the state created the rule to nudge teachers in the direction of creating challenging assessments for students with disabilities. Educators say that in some cases, time spent trying to get students to master the tests takes away from life-skills instruction.

 Court Upholds School’s Use of ‘Timeout Room’, The School Law Blog – Education Week

A school district’s use of a “timeout room” to briefly restrain an elementary school student with developmental disabilities did not “shock the conscience” and thus did not violate the student’s constitutional rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The decision stems from a suit filed by an Oklahoma couple, Paul and Melinda Muskrat, on behalf of their son, identified in court papers as J.M., who was a special education student at Deer Creek Elementary School in Edmond, Okla. J.M. would sometimes yell, spit, kick, and display other disruptive behaviors in his classroom.

On an unspecified number of occasions, J.M.’s teachers would place him in the small “timeout room,” which was an enclosure large enough for a student and teacher to fit, with a light, a window, and an unlocked door, court papers say. The longest the student was placed in the timeout room on any one occasion was four minutes, the court papers say.

J.M. was between 5 and 10 years old when the timeout room was used, and at some point his parents requested that he not be placed in the enclosure. His individualized education program was amended to prohibit placing him in the timeout room, but the parents’ suit contends school officials continued to do so.

Report Says ‘Use of Force’ Incidents Increasing in Ohio DYS Facilities, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

Although fewer numbers of low-level offenders are being sent to Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) centers, a Correctional Institution Inspection Committee report released last week found that personnel use of force to restrain adolescents and teens in the state’s facilities increased in 2012.

Last year, an estimated 4.69 “use of force” incidents per youth were tallied up by the Committee. Three years earlier, the estimates were just 3.74 incidents per detained juvenile. One facility — Circleville Juvenile Correctional Facility — was found to have a “use of force” rate that averaged 7.31 incidents per inmate.

Illinois State House Signs off on Redirecting Most Youth Under 17 From Adult Court, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

The Illinois House approved has signed off on a bill  that would place more 17-year-olds in the state’s juvenile courts – steering more youth away from the adult system.

As it is in Illinois, youth under 17 that are, in most cases, charged with felonies are tried as adults. Under the bill, which now goes to the Senate after an 89-26 House vote, 17-year-olds charged with “lesser felonies” would have their cases heard in juvenile courts.

New Report on Video Games and Juvenile Offenders, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

A study recently published in the journal Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice argues that there may be a link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior.

The study analyzed the video game playing behaviors of more than 200 young men and women involved in Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system. According to the report, inclinations towards more violent games, as well as frequency of playing video games in general, may be factors in both delinquent and violent behavior among young people.

As his legislation expanding the state’s virtual school network reached the floor of the Texas House in early May, Representative Ken King was focused on what it was not.

“This is not a voucher bill. This is not a vendor bill,” said Mr. King, Republican of Canadian. “I’m the last guy on this floor that’ll ever vote for a voucher.”

That did not reassure several of his colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, who objected to allowing profit-making companies to offer online courses to public school students.

Panel Wants Male Juvenile age lowered to 16 from 18, Express News Service – New Delhi

The parliamentary committee on empowerment of women has asked the government to lower the age of male juvenile from 18 to 16 years so that the offenders involved in heinous crime against women could be tried under the criminal laws.

“The Committee are of considered opinion that in spite of the fact that the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 was amended in the year 2000 and the age of juvenile males and females was brought at par as below the age of 18 years, it has not produced the desired results,” report said.

 

Michigan District Declares Financial Emergency, Temporary Shutdown, Education News

Students in Buena Vista schools in Michigan haven’t been to class since last Friday, mlive reports, and it is expected the classrooms will remain vacant for days more. The district, which educates about 420 students, found itself in severe financial difficulty after the state declined to turn over education funds for the next three months as a penalty for district overcharging.

As a result, Buena Vista has no money to pay the salaries of its staff.

This week, numerous legislators and juvenile justice officials testified before Massachusetts’ Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, in support of recent legislative proposals that would place 18-year-olds under the jurisdiction of the state’s juvenile courts as opposed to its adult courtrooms.

Justice Dept. Warns Wisconsin Voucher Schools Against Discrimination, On Special Education – Education Week

The U.S. Department of Justice said Wisconsin private schools that accept taxpayer-funded vouchers must not discriminate against students with disabilities in a new guidance letter.

The Justice Department was prompted to investigate the situation in Wisconsin after a complaint from the American Civil Liberties Union and other state groups that claimed that Milwaukee was essentially creating a system of segregated schools.

Bill that May End Fingerprinting of Low-Level Youth Offenders Advances in Texas, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange

This week, the Texas Senate passed SB 1769, a legislative proposal that would establish an advisory committee to evaluate the prospect of ending the state’s practice of fingerprinting low-level juvenile offenders who are referred to probation departments.