Editorials from across South Carolina: school discipline, new school year, dangerous driving
Student criminals
School is not a place for fighting, profanity and general disrespect.
But it is also not a place where children should be labeled criminals on a regular basis.…
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Scoppe: You can get arrested for that? Seriously?
Columbia student files suit to void law used to arrest her
Use police in schools for crimes, not discipline, SC board says
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Statewide, a committee of educators, law enforcement officials and parents has recommended that SROs be involved only when a student’s behavior rises to the level of criminal conduct. That is a logical proposal. At present the role of SROs can vary from one school to the next.
And legislation was introduced in Columbia this year that would have clarified the “disturbing schools” law that is used in making arrests. The bills were not acted upon, but they should be taken up during the next session.
Here’s why: The hazy law carries maximum sentencing of a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both. By comparison, public disorderly conduct carries a $100 fine or 30 days in jail, and simple assault carries a $500 fine, 30 days in jail or both.
So students who are deemed to have behaved “in an obnoxious manner” on school grounds can be treated more harshly than someone guilty of assault on a public street.
New school year
It’s time!
What time is it? Back-to-school time, that’s what. This is the last big weekend to get those shopping trips done in preparation for the start of a new school year.… And, thanks to the generosity of others in the community, some children will get nice new backpacks and other supplies through area back-to-school bashes.
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More kids, more tech: What’s new as Columbia-area schools open this week
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School buildings have been prepped by teachers and cleaning crews. Hallway and classroom floors are shiny, some facilities have been given a fresh coat of paint and school buses have been given the once-over to make sure they’re ready to hit the roads next week.
And so a big thumbs up to all who have been doing their part to prepare for the new school year, from students to parents, from janitors to teachers and beyond. Also, a thumbs up to everyone who is preparing for the new school year by mentally adjusting to the need to be a bit more attentive with their driving as children will be walking to and from school and school zone speed limits will be especially important to abide by.
Dangerous drivers
The high traffic volume associated with the summer is proving deadly in South Carolina: more people, more traffic, more accidents, more deaths and injuries.…
(T)he fact that motorists are taking more risks becomes apparent when you measure the recent rise in a different way, averaging things out by calculating the number of fatalities for every 100 million miles Americans drive.
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SC roads twice as fatal as nationwide
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For the first nine months of 2015, that figure worked out to an average 1.1 deaths, compared with the historic low of 1.05 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled in 2014.
If the trend holds for all of 2015, it would come as the highest fatality rate since 2012, at 1.14 deaths per 100 million miles.
From a historic context, the numbers are still a significant improvement over decades past. Back in 1972, a record 54,589 Americans were killed on the highways — at a time when there were barely half as many cars on the road and motorists traveled far fewer miles each year, according to federal data.
Measured in terms of deaths per 100 million miles traveled, the figure routinely reached five back in the 1960s and 1970s, and was routinely well above 10 deaths all the way through to the end of World War II.
But safety advocates contend the numbers should be even lower today considering all the steps that have been taken to improve both U.S. roadways and the vehicles being driven.