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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The defense is trying to pin the responsibility on “Mrs. Kovak”. She’s a reading specialist who held down “JT” after he shot the teacher. [/quote]
How in the world is the reading specialist at fault?[/quote]

Basically, they’re saying that because she did not search his backpack when she had the opportunity to do so. They asked if she was intimidated by a six-year-old, so mocking her abilities. They also questioned her in her lack of urgency at the playground when they suspected he took “something” out of his bag.

[/quote]
They don’t have much of a defense so I guess they have to reach for something, but the idea that the reading specialist is responsible instead of the school administrator who was warned no less than 4 times that this kid might be armed is laughable.[/quote]

My feelings are that not only is the school administrator responsible but this shooting could’ve been prevented at other points, so the defense has a point. Had somebody searched his backpack as soon as kids started telling them that the boy had a gun.

However, they were very concerned about protecting the shooters dignity and they did not search his person because the administrator told them to hold until the mom came later in the day.

[b]They were all very concerned with the chain of command and their abilities to take action without permission.[/b][/quote]

I find it concerning that grown professionals have been so hamstringed by policy and fear of retribution that this turned into a seemingly all day event. This school screams toxic work environment. [/quote]

I just summarized all the events in the earlier post. Here's my take as a teacher...

Teachers aren't supposed to search a child's backpack or their person, in my school district. We really aren't allowed to and we can be fired or disciplined if we do so. We are supposed to report to the principal or AP who ARE authorized to do so.

You can say that we should just feel free to do so, anyhow. But who protects us, if we search and find nothing? And now the parents complain and sue, and we get fired?

Of course, if we are truly concerned for our own safety and that of the children in our care, we should search anyhow and just take the chance that we are wrong.  And it sounds from the timeline, that the reading specialist got to that point. It's hard to believe that the 6 year old child in front of you, the little boy you have been teaching reading, would really have brought a gun to school though. I can see not being 100% sure of myself in such a situation - sure enough to go againts school procedures and risk my own job security.

By the time the reading teacher did (apparently on her own initiative) search the boys backpack though, the gun was no longer there. Now they suspect it is in his pocket.

Searching a child PHYSICALLY is a much bigger deal than searching his backpack while he isn't present. You are approaching a child who is known to be violent, known to be explosive, who isn't even supposed to be in school without his parent? And not to mention, you really do NOT have the legal authority to conduct the search. If anything happens at all - kid gets hurt, you get hurt, other kids get hurt - it is your neck on the line and your job on the line.

Meanwhile the person who DOES have the legal authority to conduct this search is just sitting in her office an dhasn't even notified the principal of any of the reports.

There might have been a few things the first grade teacher could have done differently from the start, but I don't blame her at all for following school policy and notifying admin of her concerns. He was in her what, second-third year of teaching? Dealing with these issues isn't easy at all and it sounds like she got zero support from admin. [/quote]

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