A safety panel set up by US President Donald Trump in the wake of numerous school shootings recommended Wednesday that schools consider arming staff, using veterans as guards and reversing Obama-era guidelines. The Federal Commission on School Safety panel, led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was set up after the February massacre in Parkland, Florida, when a former student shot dead 17 people, sparking mass gun control protests. Instead it suggested arming staff -- even teachers in some circumstances -- "for the sake of effectively and immediately responding to violence." The commission's report said the measure has had "a strong negative impact on school discipline and safety." "The Trump administration is exploiting tragedies to justify rolling back school children's civil rights protections, despite the lack of any evidence linking school discipline reform to school shootings," it said in a statement.

Source: dna December 19, 2018 03:56 UTC