Philly school district likely to get back its safety watchdog

The Philadelphia School District seems likely to get its independent safety watchdog back by the time school opens in September, key lawmakers said Tuesday.

Legislation reactivating Philadelphia's Office of Safe Schools Advocate is poised to pass the state House and Senate this week.

"This is a done deal," said Rep. John Taylor (R., Phila.), who has pushed the legislation. "I think it creates an immediate, different level of accountability."

Before the office was shut down in 2009 by state officials, "we were able to find not just individual problems with the way the district meted out discipline," Taylor said, "but patterns."

The push to revive the office began in the aftermath of the seven-part Inquirer series "Assault on Learning," which documented thousands of assaults being committed in Philadelphia schools each year, some even by kindergartners.

Under the legislation, the advocate's office would move from the Department of Education to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and would be funded at $400,000. It would also mandate consequences for the district's withholding information from the advocate.

The Inquirer series raised questions about the accuracy of the district's reporting system, describing how violent incidents were downgraded, reported late, or not reported.

This month, Tomás Hanna, the district associate superintendent for academic support, acknowledged: "We have a credibility issue. Integrity of reporting - from now on we have to get that right. People don't believe us."

Aside from assisting victims of violence, the advocate is also responsible for compiling an annual report detailing the level of violence in the school system and how the district is handling it.

When the advocate's office was created in 2000, the position was believed to be the first of its kind in the country. It was spearheaded by legislators who felt the district was not properly handling violence.

The job was held first by lawyer Harvey Rice, then by Jack Stollsteimer, a former assistant U.S. attorney and an outspoken critic of the way the district handled violence.

State officials cited budget woes when they closed the advocate's office in 2009. The shutdown came amid criticism of Stollsteimer for spending too much time attacking the district and issuing critical reports, and not enough time helping victims.

State officials said at the time that the advocate's tasks would be performed by other workers within the Department of Education. But no reports have been issued since Stollsteimer's departure.

Now, Taylor said, "we'll again see a separate view from the district on how safety is handled."

Taylor had initially written a separate bill reactivating the advocate job, but now much of that bill's language has been folded into the Public School Code, a law that must be passed before the legislature breaks for the summer.

The School Code has passed the Senate education and appropriations committees and awaits action by the full House and Senate.

Rep. Bill Keller (D., Phila.), who along with Taylor helped establish the safety-watchdog job in 2000, said the legislation would make a difference for parents and students.

"Parents know they will get some relief if they go to the Safe Schools Advocate," Keller said. "This is a good tool to help the school district educate kids better."

Shana Kemp, a spokeswoman for the district, said that if the legislation passes, "we welcome the additional supports to address the safety of our young people. The district has seen a decline in violent incidents over the past two years, and we hope to continue that trend."