By nearly all accounts, the staff and students at Sandy Hook Elementary School did everything right on Dec. 14--and with the security measures they took before that day--when a young man armed with powerful weapons blasted his way into the school. But the deadliest K-12 school shooting in American history, a day that President Barack Obama has…

Background: Approximately 10-25% of child and adolescent injuries occur at school. Little is known about school-related injuries to teachers and other adults or about the direct cost of injuries to schools. This study examined the characteristics of cases involving injuries resulting in lawsuits against schools, compared cases in which schools…

Background: There is a need for greater international understanding of student safety in schools. This New Zealand study investigated the causes and school location of fractures sustained by students attending elementary school, with special emphasis on the types of fractures sustained following falls from playground equipment of various heights.…

In 1998, an estimated 3.4 million uninsured children were of high school age. Among highly populated states, there were wide differences in the percentage of these uninsured children, ranging from 28 percent in Texas to 6 percent in Massachusetts. Ten states and the District of Columbia require high school students to have health insurance before…

Public schools routinely require permission or release forms for field trips and other activities of potential liability. The legal status of such forms varies, but they are generally considered neither rock-solid protection nor legally valueless in terms of immunity. This article presents a case involving a student who sustained bicycle injuries…

This is a report of a study of safety issues at one urban middle school in New Jersey. The study had four objectives: (1) to identify the safety concerns of the staff and students of the school; (2) to determine effective strategies for improving safety; (3) to ascertain ways to implement strategies for improved safety; and (4) to determine ways…

Discusses the 1997 collapse of a balcony on a historic building at the University of Virginia, which resulted in a death and several injuries. Explores the balcony structure and cause of the collapse, any possibly preventative measures, and the resolution of legal proceedings resulting from the collapse. (EV)

Noting that 90 percent of serious playground injuries result from falls to hard surfaces, this paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of various playground surfacing materials in terms of cost, climate, durability, aesthetics, and play value. Findings are based on the personal experience of the author, government documents, laboratory…

Author considered how schools can cut the cost of insurance in almost all areas without endangering their continued existence. (Author/RK)

The problem of playground equipment safety is far more complex than first appears. Children often use their imaginations and the equipment in ways which manufacturers, teachers and parents never foresaw. The penalty for such imaginative miscalculations is far too high. (Author)

Discusses the goal of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the role of industrial arts teachers in helping students understand the importance of safety in industry. Four instructional approaches which industrial arts teachers may use to develop positive student attitudes toward safety are also described. (SH)

Recent laboratory work has suggested a defensive attribution interpretation of the attribution of responsibility following an accident. A questionnaire was devised concerning a campus stabbing incident in which one girl suffered severe consequences. Results were compatible with defensive attribution. (Author)

Article reviewed a book which focused on the role of the teacher in the case of students who injure themselves in school accidents. (RK)

One of the most frequently used legal defenses against the charge that a school employee or district has been negligent is contributory negligence. Contributory negligence means that the injured person failed to exercise the required standard of care for his own safety and, therefore, contributed to his own injury. (Author/WM)