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)

GRADES OR AGES: 1 through 12. SUBJECT MATTER: Safety education. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The spiral-bound guide is divided into sections for grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9, and 10-12. Sections on first aid for elementary students and for high school students are included. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: Objectives are stated for each section in…

Many federal agencies actively address the problem of violence in schools by acquiring and disseminating information about school violence and supporting strategies that work to reduce violence. This document provides an inventory of federal activities addressing violence in schools. It was designed to facilitate coordination of federal school…

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…

The frequency of school accidents is intolerably high. A school board's policy on safety education and accident prevention should include a district-wide safety program. (MF)

Describes the use of nonslip flooring in educational facilities to reduce fall injuries and litigation costs. Discussions include the influence of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, regulatory considerations, and a brief litigation overview. Provides a comparison chart of nonslip flooring surface performance. (GR)

Describes a program involving the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) in which a private contractor provides annual loss-prevention surveys and detailed safety reports for buildings at every CUNY campus. Discusses why the program has worked and its benefits. (EV)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's "Handbook for Public Playground Safety" stands as the industry's reference tool and is a primary source for measuring liability in accident claims. Today's playground accidents are usually caused by poor maintenance, antiquated design, or layout problems. A series of tests are available for…

A school district's risk manager must provide the leadership in risk management for district special events. Tables list the following: (1) seven reasons for event failures, and preventive measures to take; (2) risk analysis checklist; and (3) event planning outline. (MLF)

Reports a study that examined the incidence of spearing between two high school football seasons, one before and one after a rule change banning spearing. Reviews of 18 game films of a New Jersey team from 1975 and 1990 indicated that, overall, the rule change did not have a favorable impact on the incidence of spearing. (SM)

"MCPS School Safety and Security at a Glance" provides, in a single document, information about the reporting of incidents related to school safety and security, school climate, local school safety program descriptions, and serious incidents in all Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools. The information is presented for each school.…

This is the third of three volumes of a safety guide developed to assist Kansas administrators and teachers in organizing, evaluating, and maintaining safety programs. It provides information to help them identify, assess, and correct unsafe conditions relating to equipment and facilities and ensure a safe and healthy environment for themselves…