School-Related Professionals will be raising their voices and walking the halls of the state Legislature this session to help pass bills that will make school employees and students safer and their learning environment more secure.

Three bills that NYSUT members and staff will focus on are legislation to require school districts to develop programs to prevent workplace violence; to adopt student-to-adult ratios in outside play areas; and to require attendants on buses transporting K-6 students.

Safety training

A bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Susan John, D-Rochester, and Sen. Serphin Maltese, R-Queens, would require districts to provide staff training on strategies to protect themselves from safety or heath hazards.

"We all know that our schools work best when we have a strong voice on the job," said NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue. "This proposed legislation would open a dialogue among our members and administrators to identify and take on potential health hazards or security gaps."

The legislation would require districts to evaluate potential risks in the workplace, and develop and implement a written plan to deal with them.

It also requires that staff receive training on strategies to protect themselves from violence or other dangerous situations in the workplace, after a dialogue with employee representatives.

The measure would require districts to begin tracking systems to identify trends that require remediation.

Outside the classroom

SRPs have been concerned for years about the potentially dangerous situations for students in non-instructional settings, like outside play areas, cafeterias and field trips. There are no state regulations mandating student/adult ratios in those settings.

That concern turned into action when delegates to the 2002 NYSUT Representative Assembly passed a resolution that advocated "legislation to mandate guidelines for student/adult ratios in those areas that would make these situations safer."

The union will continue to push this issue so that districts are required to establish an appropriate number of adult monitors for outside play areas, based on the number of students in the activity.

NYSUT members will also be talking up a proposed bill from Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, that would require that every school bus transporting K-6 students have an attendant on board to keep order and assist any child who needs help on and off the bus and crossing the street.

"Often, legislation needs a boost from our members informing lawmakers why a particular bill is good for students, educators and the community. I look forward to lobbying with hundreds of SRPs this year," Donahue said.

— Bernie Mulligan