School Safety Panel: More Counselors, Fewer Random Searches (Random Lengths, 12/6-12/18)

My story for Random Lengths News (the 12/6-12/18 print issue) reports on the findings of a recent "Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety" in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The panel was convened, not by the district, but by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.  Here is a link to the online version:

https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/2018/12/06/school-safety-panel-more-counselors-fewer-random-searches/?ct=t%28This+Issue+12-6-18%3A+Wilmington+Winter%29&fbclid=
IwAR1V39Hh1ElHTBbl7hxElqrzw851dBgUt7zLsW-fUqZk3DVbmGvTxDxj8e8

Here's the lead:

Los Angeles Unified School District has a requirement that all middle and high schools must conduct “daily random” searches of students and lockers with hand-held metal detector wands in order to detect and seize weapons brought to school unlawfully. Schools with over 1000 students enrolled must have four metal detector wands, used daily, while schools with less than 1000 students need only have two--used daily.

This policy may be the most controversial finding by a panel, convened by Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer earlier this year, to address the issue of gun violence in Los Angeles district schools. In the aftermath of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida in February, Feuer convened a “Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety.” With the cooperation of the district, the panel spent several months examining district efforts to keep schools safe from gun violence. The final report and its recommendations were made public in August.

Asked for comment, Rob Wilcox of the city attorney’s office stated, “The most controversial aspect of the report had to do with LAUSD’s random handheld metal detector search policy (wanding) and our recommendation that it be suspended while undertaking a large scale audit of the program.”