skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The death toll from Hurricane Helene tops 200 as search and rescue efforts continue in North Carolina, community health centers in Florida struggle to serve patients as storm recovery strains resources, a new program offers Ohio residents relief from medical debt and voter advocacy groups say poor maintenance has led to inaccurate voter rolls in Indiana.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Biden voices concerns over Israeli strikes on Iran, Special Counsel Jack Smith detailed Trump's pre-January 6th pressure on Pence, Indiana's voter registration draws scrutiny and a poll shows politics too hot to talk about for half of Wisconsinites.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cheap milk comes at a cost for residents of Washington's Lower Yakima Valley, Indigenous language learning is promoted in Wisconsin as experts warn half the world's languages face extinction, and Montana's public lands are going to the dogs!

Black girls' safety in schools: Miami-Dade study makes urgent call for change

play audio
Play

Thursday, May 2, 2024   

A new report shows Black girls are enduring disproportionate discipline, sexual harassment and public humiliation from school-based police and security guards in Miami-Dade public schools.

The report, "Keep Her Safe: Centering Black Girls in School Safety," compiles the experiences of Black girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 24, sharing their stories through surveys and focus groups about mistreatment by school safety personnel who make them feel unsafe.

Bayliss Fiddiman, director of educational equity at the National Women's Law Center, which produced the study along with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the girls were being treated differently for their appearance, often unaware of the lines of sexual harassment.

"The girls express school security guards making inappropriate comments about their appearance that could range from. 'Oh, she looks ghetto,' or 'she's too big to wear that outfit. I would never let my daughter wear that,'" Fiddiman explained.

The report urged the school system to use proven behavioral interventions in such cases, rather than using policing, surveillance and harsh student punishment. Miami-Dade schools has not responded to a request for comment on the study.

Fiddiman pointed out in listening sessions, the girls also did not have a clear understanding of whom to tell if they felt violated. She argued it is an opportunity for school leaders to step in and explain school safety procedures by engaging students in the conversation.

"Schools can definitely implement policies around explaining what sexual harassment is, what boundaries are, what is safe and healthy," Fiddiman recommended. "That was missing."

The report underscored incidents of security using excessive force, such as a 16-year-old Black girl being slammed to the ground, rendering her unconscious and subsequently handcuffed to prevent a fight in 2021. In 2023, a Miami-Dade security guard faced allegations of attempting to seduce three teenage girls.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in response to the 2018 Parkland shooting aimed to bolster school safety. However, it also led to heightened law enforcement presence in schools and increased surveillance measures.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Georgia has the fourth-largest prison population in the country, with approximately 50,000 incarcerated people in state custody. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a report on the state of Georgia's prisons, citing horrific conditions and extreme violence. The …


Health and Wellness

play sound

A 2024 study showed almost 26% of Nebraskans reported having a mental-health illness in the past year -- nearly 3% higher than the national average…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Experts warn health insurance premiums could rise an average of $1,000 a year for more than 2 million Californians who buy coverage on the individual …


About 6,500 South Dakotans are in state or federal prisons, local jails and other kinds of facilities, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. (Wikimedia Commons)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent problems in South Dakota prisons have concerned lawmakers, corrections commission members and family members of those incarcerated, who formed …

Environment

play sound

By Jennifer Oldham for Sierra.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public New…

A rendering depicts the proposed entryway for Teague Park in Longview, Texas. (Photo courtesy City of Longview)

Environment

play sound

The City of Longview, in east Texas, will use a $1.3 million federal grant to make upgrades to one of its largest parks. Teague Park sits in the …

Social Issues

play sound

Social behavior experts said teens have fewer safe spaces to gather, with technology-driven isolation complicating matters. It is more pronounced in …

Environment

play sound

This week, federal officials announced a new round of funding for passenger rail projects. It is part of a larger push to expand and restore service…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021