Principal vs. School Agents
Dispute Over School Discipline Authority

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Unions representing Principals and School Safety Agents last week called for clarification on who has authority over student discipline after agents arrested a Principal at his lower Manhattan school.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James CHANGE IN MINDSET: Council of School Supervisors and Administrators Ernie Logan testified at a City Council hearing last week that the city needed a different approach to school safety after one of his members was arrested at his school by School Safety Agents. 'When it comes to discipline, the Principal should make the determination,' he said.

Principal Mark Federman was arrested as school opened on Oct. 9 after trying to prevent the agents from escorting a student they had just arrested out the front door of the building. Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd, who represents SSAs, asserted that his members acted properly and that the dual authority of the Police Department and the Principal often placed the agents in no-win situations. Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan called for more control over the agents by Principals.

KATHLEEN GRIMM: Final call rests with NYPD.

'Tip of the Iceberg'

"You can't put blinders on," said Mr. Logan. "You can't pretend that there's not a problem. What happened yesterday is just the tip of the iceberg."

The CSA leader said that while individual SSAs were not responsible for the confusion, and performed a difficult job very well, he believed there needed to be a change in mindset when it came to school security.

Mr. Floyd, whose initial frustration was aimed at the Principal, agreed with Mr. Logan that the lack of a written protocol pitted the two groups against one another. "Our members are blamed for policies they are not responsible for," he said. "Our agents are often caught in between the supervisors, which is the NYPD, and Principals."

The student was arrested for allegedly assaulting one of the agents, pulling her hair and hitting her in the face, after they prevented her from entering the East 12th St. building before the formal start of the school day. The Principal was trying to stop the agents from taking the 17-year-old student through the front door, past a gathering throng of students. He wanted her taken to the patrol car through a side entrance.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: Teamsters Local 237 President Greg Floyd (left) defended School Safety Agents Nadine Penniston and Mark Ruiz after an altercation with a student that led to her arrest and the arrest of her Principal. 'Our members are blamed for policies they are not responsible for,' Mr. Floyd said.

On Oct. 12, Mr. Floyd said that he had seen the official police report, which revealed new details about the incident. He said the report indicated that the SSAs initially agreed to take the student out the side door, but were then contacted by their supervisor who told them not to. The report said that the supervisor advised the SSAs that the girl's distressed mother, who had been called by the Dean, was at the side door and that the situation was getting out of hand.

Who Rules Schools?

As the agents tried to exit the front door, the Principal blocked it with his body and attempted to prevent the agents from exiting. A scuffle ensued, an agent was knocked to the ground, and the Principal was arrested, according to Mr. Floyd's account of the report.

A City Council hearing, held by coincidence the day after the incident, brought clashes between Council Members and Bloomberg administration officials as they tried to figure out whose authority was paramount at the schools.

Deputy Schools Chancellor Kathleen Grimm testified that the Principal was in charge of school safety. But she added that once a crime was committed, like in "any other civil institution," the Schools Safety Agents, who are NYPD employees, had authority.

Council Members Peter F. Vallone Jr. and Robert Jackson pressed Ms. Grimm and NYPD School Safety Commanding Officer James Secreto to explain who had the power to decide when a crime was taking place and when to make an arrest.

"What if there's an altercation between two students, but there are no injuries?" asked Mr. Vallone. "The School Safety Agent believes it is a crime; the Principal disagrees. What happens?"

Defer to NYPD

Officials responded that the "experts in the NYPD" decided what constituted a crime. "When it happens and the police or the School Safety Agent believe it's a crime, they need to act," said Ms. Grimm. "When police say it's a crime, we have to say, they have to do their job."

Mr. Logan took issue with that approach. He raised the example of two children playing in a school yard who get into a fight. "If Johnny hits Joey and Joey gets a bloody nose, should Johnny go to jail?" he asked. "I don't think so."

Mr. Floyd defended his members against charges, leveled by some parents, students and a recent New York Civil Liberties Union report, that agents were over-policing the schools and violating students' civil rights. "We reject accusations that School Safety Agents are insensitive to the concerns of a largely minority public school system," he said. "A majority of our agents are women of color. They don't decide to put the scanners in, and they don't decide to enforce the rules. They are given a job and they do it."

Wants to Meet Again

Administration officials suggested that any confusion could be alleviated at individual schools' monthly safety meetings, comprised of educators and SSAs. But Mr. Logan said he was hoping to reinstate regular monthly meetings between himself and the head of the NYPD's school safety team. Those monthly meetings halted a couple of years ago. Representatives from the NYPD, DOE and Mr. Logan are meeting this month to discuss protocol and ongoing issues.

"We want to be able to have a safe and secure environment for our students," said Mr. Logan, "but we also want to have a place that's conducive to learning. Armed camps are not conducive to learning."