Should students be suspended for acts of willful defiance, or is discipline better carried out in schools? We'll talk about a resolution before the LAUSD board. We'll also discuss a bill that would allow transgender students in California schools to be more involved in athletics. Later, we'll consider the politicization of the IRS, developments in the Benghazi hearings, and how to weigh risks when making travel plans.
LAUSD could ban suspensions for ‘willful defiance’ (Poll)
The LAUSD board will vote tomorrow on whether to ban suspensions for acts of defiance. The resolution would prevent suspensions for defiant acts like mouthing off to teachers, instead installing disciplinary measures that would take place while students remained in school.
If passed, the ban would mark a major shift from a zero-tolerance policy for willful defiance. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has been monitoring school suspensions and has made progress in reducing them. He and other backers of the ban argue that “restorative justice” is more effective in changing behavior without disadvantaging students.
The mediations required by new disciplinary measures take time and are more costly than suspensions – will LAUSD be able to manage financially if the resolution passes? How could a ban on willful defiance suspensions change things for students and teachers? Is it more appropriate for discipline to take place in school, or are suspensions effective in modifying behavior?
Guests:
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, President of Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention
Judith Perez, Ph.D., President of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, the union that represents principals, assistant principals and other administrators at LAUSD
Body politics: Sacramento bill considers fate of transgender athletes
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s AB 1266 would allow transgender students in public K-12 schools to use bathrooms and participate in team sports that correspond to their gender identity. California law currently prohibits discrimination in education, and the Ammiano bill would take protecting trans students one step further, as the first bill in the country to address issues of restroom use and school sports.
Last week, AB 1266 cleared a state assembly and is headed next to the California Senate. It’s an issue that professional sports leagues have had to wrestle with.
In 1997, Renée Richards sued the United States Tennis Association, and won, in order to play as a woman in the US Open. And mixed martial artist Fallon Fox came out in March as transgender, again raising the question whether she has an unfair competitive advantage over other female fighters. Both the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association have implemented regulations for transgender athletes.
Is it competitively fair to allow transgender athletes to participate in team sports based on their gender? What do parents think of their kids possibly sharing a locker room with a trans student?
Interview Highlights:
Helen Carol on the concerns of parents with regard to locker rooms:
"I think that's an interesting question and it begs to the idea of certainly having education for the parents and people in the district. The transgender girl is a girl. She is not going in there as a boy to look at all the girls, she's going in there to be with her teammates to have the coach come in and talk with them, to get ready to play, and there is certainly and area of privacy that is always established in a locker room for any student who wants to have privacy. Fortunately I've been able to work with around a dozen transgender student athletes at the high school level and that has never been a problem with the parents."
Helen Carol on the issue of competitive advantage:
"That's always a fear. It's the taught that any boy or any person with a male anatomy is going to be much stronger than any girl. Again what I have found working with the athletes is that this is just not true, the transgender girl fits within the skill level of the team that they're joining. I have to tell you with the kids that I've worked with it's either been like right in the middle of the pack or a little bit below. I have not worked with a transgender student athlete that has gone in and just taken over the program."
Brad Daycus on possible complications with this legislation:
"This legislation is very radical in my opinion that it just simply says 'a boy comes to school and says you know I feel like a girl, I want to play on a girls team' and instantly that is granted, no review, no past play out, and no required prior counseling. I think that's very extreme, and unfortunate not only for the other students who have a disadvantage, for example females that don't have that testosterone level that the boy has, and the anatomical and biological advantage often times, but also it's a disadvantage for the young person who is just possibly addressing their Gender Identity Disorder and this may actually complicate these things. Not everyone who has a gender identity disorder is destined statistically to end up carrying out and becoming a full transgender person."
Guests:
Helen J. Carroll, leads the Sports Project at the National Center for Lesbian Rights; former head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina-Asheville
Brad Daycus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties
IRS targeted conservative groups
The IRS has come under fire after senior official Lois Lerner announced that the group had inappropriately targeted conservative-leaning groups. The IRS has in the past been accused of politicizing the screening process for tax-exempt status application.
Conservative groups especially have said the IRS unfairly focuses on them, using keywords like “tea party” and “patriot” to aid in their search. The screening process is likely in violation of IRS policy. Lerner issued an apology to the tea party groups and Democrats and Republicans in the Senate Finance Committee, including Committee Chairman Max Baucus, have called for an investigation into the IRS’ actions.
Did the IRS break the law by inappropriately targeting conservative groups? How should they be held accountable? Is there any evidence they targeted other groups as well?
Guest:
Josh Hicks, Washington Post reporter and “Federal Eye” blogger
Obama administration and the American public still debate Benghazi
Did the United States mishandle the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya? Was there a cover-up? Four Americans died when the U.S. diplomatic outpost was attacked, and some were outraged that there was no military response. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” this weekend and and stated that he would have handled the situation in the exact same way. And today, President Obama called media's renewed interest in Benghazi a "sideshow" and denied any sort of a cover-up.
Guests:
Nick Gillespie, Editor in Chief, Reason.com and ReasonTV, Co-Author of the book “The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America”
Nicholas Wapshott, Reuters columnist
Weighing risks when mapping travel plans
Planning summer vacation is mostly about finding relaxation or excitement and beautiful places, but it can also be about what you’re avoiding: bad weather, poisonous snakes, picket pockets and palatable fear.
Are you a smart traveller or do you travel with abandon? How do you select your destinations? How do you know which excursion companies -- for zip-lining, bungee-jumping or insect-dining -- are thrilling in all the right ways? What are the best sources for the latest travel information? How extensive should travel insurance coverage be? What are some places that are perceived as risky, but in fact worth being on your bucket list? What are your lessons learned?
Guests:
Brice Gosnell, Vice President of Publishing, Lonely Planet of the Americas
Interview Highlights:
On if there is a market for risky travel:
"I wouldn't necessarily suggest that there is a market, but one aspect of travel is that people like a 'brag factor.' The more experienced you are in terms of traveling you're also trying to raise the bar for yourself so you might be more comfortable trying something that might be a different type of travel for you and that could be perceived as risky. Then you get the advantage of coming back and telling all your friends, 'Well look where I went' and everyone says 'wow, I can't believe you went there!'"
On the value of State Department risk lists:
"I think they're valuable to give you a starting point. I think that if I've gone anywhere, any place where I've gone where I knew there was a perceived risk I always check out what the State Department says. Then you also have to put some of your own common sense, some of your own experience on top of that in terms of what additional information do you want to sort of flush out that risk, to decide whether or not that is a risk you are personally comfortable with."
On if crime (i.e. Mexican Drug Violence) in foreign destinations act as deterrents:
"You can underestimate the power of the media. Just speaking on the issues in Mexico for example, you know Mexico obviously has gotten a lot of bad press because of the drug violence there but in terms of the day to day violence that happens there versus the US, Mexico as a country is actually quite safe. What we're getting reports on is very targeted specific areas, most people understand this consciously, but at the same time when they're making the decision as to whether it's worth going to Mexico or another destination that might be a factor."
On what locations are sought out by adventurous American tourists:
"Some destinations that may have had a reputation as being not safe, those places have actually changed. A really good example is Nicaragua. I went to Nicaragua eight years ago and even at that time, it was very much starting to become a bit on the scene for people in the know, it had to more with people who were either retiring, because there's a certain area in Nicaragua where there are some retirees and surfers, but traveling there I felt completely comfortable the whole time."