Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/national-guard/)
In February 2024, officials in Massachusetts requested the National Guard be deployed to a more unexpected location – to a high school.
Brockton High School has been struggling with student fights, drug use and disrespect toward staff. One school staffer said she was trampled by a crowd rushing to see a fight. Many teachers call in sick to work each day, leaving the school understaffed.
Initiatives emerging from shootings may conflict with efforts to reduce police involvement in school discipline
As the White House considers proposals to allocate federal money for armed guards in schools, prominent school-discipline reform groups have issued a report denouncing the idea as a misguided reaction to the Newtown school shooting. “Placing more police in schools has significant and harmful unintended consequences for young people that must be considered before agreeing to any proposal that would increase the presence of law enforcement in schools,”says an issue brief released Friday by the Advancement Project, Dignity in Schools and other organizations. The Advancement Project, founded in 1999, has offices in Washington D.C. and California, and has worked with school districts and states to adopt alternatives to school suspensions and expulsions. Dignity in Schools is also devoted to working with school districts, advocating fewer school suspensions and less involvement of law enforcement in school discipline. The groups called on the White House and Congress, before they act, to consider how the school-discipline climate changed after more police were introduced to schools in response to the Columbine school shootings nearly 15 years ago in Colorado.
Our Military Kids offers grants for kids who have parents in the National Guard or reserve who are deployed or wounded. This program provides money for individual kids for sports, fine arts, camps and tutoring programs. It helps to provide support for kids to make better decisions with life challenges while their parents are deployed. Children between the ages of 3-18 whose parents are deployed or are recovering from a severe injury may apply. Grants are made up to $500. This is a rolling deadline.