AWSP Blog

This content is emailed weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each newsletter contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up to date. Please consult your district attorney if you are looking for legal advice.

Disability History and Awareness Month (RCW 28A.230.158) takes place during October to increase awareness, respect, and acceptance for people with disabilities, and to bring a greater sense of pride to people with disabilities. All Washington public schools are required to conduct or promote educational activities that provide instruction, awareness, and understanding of disability history and people with disabilities. The activities may include, but not be limited to, school assemblies or guest speaker presentations.

At the moment, it seems like “school safety” – one issue or another – is on top of everyone’s mind. Many of us have been hearing about ‘devious licks’ and ‘COVID assassins’ challenges, Twitch Hate Raids, an inordinate number of fights, more Threat Assessments than usual, serious mental health challenges for students and staff, lack of staffing for almost everything, and more. Knowing that you probably won’t have the time to read a long blog post, I will be as succinct as possible in sharing some school safety updates and resources.

It is no secret that although we are all excited to have students back in our schools, the consistent message coming from principals and assistant principals across the state is that this year is quickly proving to be even more challenging than last year. We want you to know that we hear you and that we are here for you. The layers of school leadership right now are massively complex and challenging.

Believe me, we understand. The last thing you need right now is to deal with a destructive and disappointing trend among students across the country. If you haven’t heard, one of the things trending on social media giant TikTok is essentially a string of school thefts and vandalisms. It is the last thing you need on top of your already heaping plates. I’m ticked just hearing about it, so I can only imagine your frustrations.