Monday, March 30, 2020

Reverse Migration: Why the Long March Home?



The avalanche of migrant workers trying to get out of Delhi 

“It was poverty that forced me to leave my village, and here I am  ... I still have no money,” said Sanjay Choudhary, a construction worker in Nagpur, after he undertook an arduous journey to return back to his native village in Garhwa district in Jharkhand, covering a distance of 400 km. As millions of migrant workers tread home, with small children in tow, walking for hundreds of kms and that too for days together, the story is the same.

The avalanche of migrant workers on a long march home is perhaps the biggest human migration on foot after Independence. As if hit with a sledge hammer – fearing an immediate loss of daily wages, and with employers telling them to vacate the shelters -- millions of migrants’ defied lockdown to head back home. Not only from the major metropolis cities, the reverse migration from across the country has been unprecedented. These hungry and weary millions had first rushed to train and bus stations when the ‘Janata Curfew’ was announced, and when the lockdown was imposed, they were left with little choice but to walk back.

“We know the virus is spreading but we’ll die of starvation if we stay,” echoed a majority of the migrant workers who media talked to. While the TV screens remained filled with images of hungry and exhausted workers walking back, with heart-wrenching stories of how children were carrying the tiny tod on their shoulders, how a 90-year-old woman was walking back and so on, the fact remains that the common thread that ran through the human suffering was how acutely poverty-stricken they were. Everyone walking back had the same distressing tale – they had no money, no work, and no idea how to feed their families. Even those who stayed back are no better. They have been provided with free ration, and charity organisations along with the district administrations are making an effort to provide them cooked food to stay put.   

For the millions of migrant workers life in the urban ghettos in and around industrial and manufacturing units actually hangs by a slender thread. A few days of curfew or a lockdown, the thread is snapped. Living and surviving on daily wages, barely enough to sustain their families, they continue to slog along. “In usually earn around Rs 300 a day picking up bottles, cartons and selling them,” Abdul Halim had told a newspaper.  “What we earn varies from day to day, and from person to person. Ragpickers at best make Rs 300 a day, and a handful of drivers earn better, around Rs 500,” said another ragpicker. Whether they work on a dhaba or a restaurant or work in a small scale industry, the story is almost the same.  

Let’s be very clear. If the underlying objective of economic reforms is to push people, over the past few decades, from the rural areas to the urban centres for the country to attain a higher economic growth, migrant workers are the unsaid victims of development. They have been pushed out of the rural areas, with a majority abandoning farming, aspiring to make a better living. This is what the mainline economists had told us. For instance, a distinguished economist had once said that the big ticket reforms would be when we are able to move farmers out of agriculture to the cities because these cities need cheaper labour or dehari mazdoor. He is not the only mainline economist to have said so, several others – including business and management schools -- have been relentlessly propagating this narrative seeking appropriate policies that aim at moving a large percentage of the population out of rural areas. 

The mass exodus back home has however brought the nation face to face with the stark and grim reality. If after several decades of a policy push, millions of migrant workers surviving on a daily wage have little or no cushion to sustain their livelihood even for a few days if the job is lost, it becomes crystal clear that the trickle-down theory hasn’t worked. While it may be difficult to work out the staggering number of migrant workers who walked back, but the swelling numbers is a clear indicator. Citing the 2011 Indian Census a report in IndiaSpends says that over 60 million migrant labourers work in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Since the reverse migration took place from almost every corner of the country, and that includes small urban centres like Panchkula in Haryana, it is important to know that the total number of “internal migrants” form nearly 37 per cent of the population, which means roughly 45.36 crore. Not that they all migrated but quite a staggering percentage of the internal migrants did brave the hardship to return back.

If at a time of an unforeseen crisis the majority of the migrant workers feel comfortable to return home, walking hundreds of kms without food and water, even though knowing that it was the prevailing poverty in villages that first drove them to cities, the lockdown provides a god sent opportunity to policy planners to rethink the flawed policy of keeping agriculture deliberately impoverished so as to keep the economic reforms viable. If agriculture could be turned economically viable, I am sure a majority of the migrant work force that walked back would not be keen to return. The small land-holdings, despite the fragmentation that is taking place, serve as an economic security for small and marginal farmers. Even if everything else doesn’t work, the small patch of land holdings would sustain the farm families.

It is therefore time to redesign the economic policies that have continuously driven people out of agriculture to join the marginal force of dehari mazdoors in the cities. Right kind of policy mix can bring back the pride in farming, and restore the dignity of farmers, enabling them to stay back in villages. Instead of pulling a rickshaw in the cities, and holed in dingy rooms packed with half a dozen more people, the villages are socially-inclusive and gives them a sense of belonging. In other words, the long march to the villages has left behind a strong lesson -- reviving agriculture is the key to reboot the economy. #

Why the long march home? Deccan Herald. Mar 31, 2020


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The Bright Side: Resolving Student Expulsion Matters During Coronavirus Could Result In Better Outcomes For Students

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Was your child recommended for a school expulsion prior to being sent home indefinitely due to Coronavirus aka COVID-19?  Do they have this issue now hanging over their head indefinitely due to school shut downs?  Now may be a great time to try resolve that pending school discipline matter.

Everything has been in turmoil at schools since the Coronavirus hit, and this also includes school discipline.  One positive thing that could come out of this is that there may be months with no students being suspended or expelled and thus great school discipline records for millions of students.  Clean school discipline records are good for college applications and for students themselves, as a clean school discipline record gives a positive impression.  This IS a bright side to the current Coronavirus trauma going on.

If you have a student with a pending discipline matter, like a school expulsion, it is likely your formal expulsion hearing has been pushed back, maybe indefinitely.  

There are heavy legal questions surrounding this postponement/delay, as school expulsion hearings legally must be held within 30 schooldays and cannot be postponed even during summer vacations.  

Per California Education Code 48925(c):

"'Schoolday' means a day upon which the schools of the district are in session or weekdays during the summer recess."

The current situation with kids at home trying to access on line opportunities is similar to summer vacation, yet it is also similar to a regular school day, as on the one hand students are receiving education (schoolday) and on the other they are out of school (like summer).   What rights do parents and students have in this situation?  

The California Education Code does not have a mass emergency medical disaster section with regard to expulsion time limits, so we have to look to current codes.  If the days students are at home are considered "schooldays"  they count toward the legal time limits for pursuing discipline, and students technically should get their expulsion hearings within 30 schooldays, even during this situation. 

Regardless, if a student has a pending expulsion, and the hearing was pushed back, due to this uncertainty, now may be a great time to try to resolve any pending school discipline and negotiate a more positive expulsion outcome.

The first hurdle will be to get a hold of the people in charge.  School district administrators are presumably very burdened right now with all that is going on.

However, once they are reached, reasonable outcomes in light of the Coronavirus situation can be attempted.  Parents can try to negotiate a total dropping of the school discipline matter or a reduction in the sentence.  Starting any discipline now could be positive as students are at home anyway.  Regardless, they are still entitled to an education during expulsion and could opt to attend online options, enroll in a charter school, or their parent could even file to become their own private school during the time of the discipline (easier than you may think).

Regardless, parents can try to turn this ugly situation into a winning one, and try to resolve their pending discipline matters due to the current uncertainty.  There may be nothing to lose for the student, who could have a much more positive school discipline record in the end.

Best,

Michelle Ball
Education Law Attorney 

LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL 
717 K Street, Suite 228 
Sacramento, CA 95814 
Phone: 916-444-9064 
Email:help@edlaw4students.com 
Fax: 916-444-1209
[please like my office on Facebook, subscribe via twitter and email, and check out my videos on Youtube!]

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. 
READ MORE - The Bright Side: Resolving Student Expulsion Matters During Coronavirus Could Result In Better Outcomes For Students

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Special Education During COVID-19/Coronavirus- 5 Actions Special Ed Parents Need To Take Now To Help Their Children

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

The last two weeks have been a real NEW thing for all of us: being forced home with fear, and with our kids being excluded from school, with no or limited schooling being provided or being provided by us to the best of our abilities.  Meanwhile the Governor of California has stated that school may not be back in until the 2020-21 school year.  There are serious issues in this moment for kids, parents and education.  If your child is a special education student, the issues are probably ten times worse, as now they are not getting their services and supports.  

The first question to ask is IF your school or school district is actually providing distance learning right now?  If so, your child should have access to it.  If not, parents need to get in gear and demand this occurs.  

Special education kids need instruction even more than others due to the potential for regression when away from their education and related services (for example, speech, occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, behavior therapy, other therapies).  

If you are a special education parent and your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), you are likely well aware of what Extended School Year (ESY) services are.  These are the summer programs and support services which your child may receive so they don't lose gains they made during the traditional academic year.  The normal summer break is only about 2-3 months depending on when your school gets out, and many special education students are entitled to ESY services for this short period to prevent regression.

With the Governor's statement, if true, our kids will be out of school from March to August, which is almost SIX MONTHS.  If a student would regress during the short summer break, what happens with a break that is double the normal time period?  Even special education
kids who may typically not need ESY services to prevent regression can regress during such a long school absence.  Years of support may go down the drain if a student who has made great behavioral or other strides in school is home for this extended period with no substitute.  It is a real problem and is unacceptable.  

Additionally, special education students often require more intensive individualized services.  Even if a school provides some video instruction, how will this help the student who needs more unique instruction and intervention?  And what if they need a classroom aide to assist them and their parents are not trained to provide this type of support?  Who will train their parents to help them?  

Recently, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) released a statement on special education services during this crisis.  In this document it is explained that special education students must be provided with an equal opportunity to access their education to general education students.  If they don't have a computer to access those programs, presumably one should be provided by the school or school district.  The student also must be provided with equipment, gear and programs to make the computer accessible for them.  Per the document "federal law requires distance instruction to be accessible to students with disabilities."

What if they are not trained how to use such a device in their home?  Presumably some instruction must be provided by the school district.  School districts must rapidly address these needs.

Students with IEPs also must be provided with their related services
while in the home if at all possible.  For example, the USDOE document references provision of speech via video conference.  It is conceivable many other services could also be provided to students, including therapy and behavioral counseling, even socialization groups.  If not, it is also referenced that perhaps students will have claims to receive compensatory services once "regular" school resumes.

Ultimately, special education parents should start with the following steps:

1)  Find out, if not known already, if your school/district is providing educational services for its students.
2)  If so, ensure your child has all the gear to access this service and is receiving education in all classes being offered.  If some classes are missing, figure out how they can access these classes.
3)  If the services are via computer and your child cannot use a computer or needs adaptive gear or programs to do so, or if you don't have a computer, meaning the child cannot access the curriculum, get in touch with your school/district/special education coordinator and get them to provide the necessary technology, programs and training.
4)  Coordinate with your special education team about how your child will be provided their related services during this time.  Where is their speech to be delivered and how?  What about other online options? What about parent training for home support?
5)  See if you can convene an IEP via phone or teleconference to address these issues for the short term (only while this crisis continues).  If the full IEP team is not available, a reduced group can still discuss and solve these issues.  If no teleconferencing is available, parents can still develop a temporary plan with the staff for their child via email.

There are a lot of questions about what to do, but as with all things, action is required to move things along.

Parents should act fast and not wait at home for the school or district to act, while their child sits not getting services and losing their gains.  We work hard for their success and we should not be forced to lose advancement in one fell swoop.

Take action and be well.

Best,

 

Michelle Ball

Education Law Attorney 

 

LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL 

717 K Street, Suite 228 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

Phone: 916-444-9064 

Email:help@edlaw4students.com 

Fax: 916-444-1209

Website, Blog, Twitter, YoutubeFacebook

 

Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship. This blog may not reflect the current state of the law.


READ MORE - Special Education During COVID-19/Coronavirus- 5 Actions Special Ed Parents Need To Take Now To Help Their Children
The Peace Journalist magazine is here!
The Peace Journalist magazine is out, featuring special reports on #COVID19 & PJ; a #peacejournalism project in #NorthernIreland; @sarahmargon discussing human rights and journalism @parkuniversity;  and media and disinformation at the World Forum for Democracy in France.  See link to magazine posted on Issuu. 

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Thursday, March 19, 2020

No need to panic; India has enough food stocks to tide over Corona Virus crisis


People throng to malls in panic to stock essential items in wake of coronavirus outbreak. 
Pic: socialnews.xyz

As European Union sealed its borders in a desperate attempt to put the brakes on the ferocious spread of the corona virus pandemic, a young Indian student returning from Italy recounted how the battle for a loaf of bread has intensified in a country which is perhaps the worst hit by the spread of the deadly virus. An Indian NRI couple returning to America a few days ago, after spending two months of holidays in India, were shocked to find that the price of wheat atta they usually would buy for $ 10 a bag has now skyrocketed to $ 90.

As hordes of worried shoppers have been stockpiling supplies of food, toilet paper and other groceries day after day amidst corona virus scare in America, the US President Donald Trump had to step in to assure people that there is no shortage of food supplies and urged them to resist from panic buying. 

In India, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people not to resort to panic buying the Supreme Court directs all states to ensure that the disbursement of nutritional food to children and lactating mother is not affected as a result of the closure of schools, Kerala has launched a programme for delivering mid-day ration to school children at their homes. Meanwhile, reports of consumers stocking food and other essential items in panic have poured in from across the country. With Punjab closing down the weekly vegetable market called Apni mandi, and with some experts pointing to community transmission of corona virus expected to happen, which means self-quarantine will become the norm in the days to come, the scramble for buying and storing essential food commodities has only heightened. My own neighbours have already stocked their monthly household requirement of wheat atta, rice, sugar, edible oil, onion and potato.

Although there is no shortage of food globally as well as nationally, panic buying of food items at a time of crisis is nothing unusual. As far as wheat, rice, sugar and pulses are concerned, there are enough stocks available within the country. In fact, for wheat and rice, the godowns are already overflowing with the surplus over the required emergency buffer being several times more. Against the requirement of 214 lakh-tonnes of wheat and rice at the beginning of the year on Jan 1, 2020, Food Corporation of India (FCI) had 565.11-lakh tonnes, which means roughly two and a half times more than the essential requirement for public distribution. With the new wheat arrivals expected from the first week of April, India has certainly nothing to worry on the foodgrain front. In addition, India already has a buffer stock of 30-lakh tonnes of sugar, which the government is planning to raise to 40-lakh tonnes this fiscal. In the cases of pulses, the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs has been trying since December to offload 8.47-lakh tonnes from its buffer stock of pulses.

The abundance of food stocks within the country at a time when national borders are closing for movement of people and also expected to hit international trade is certainly a big sigh of relief. This reminds me of the global food crisis in 2007 when food prices had soared globally, and food riots had erupted in 37 countries, including countries like Egypt. While people went hungry, food companies had raked in huge profits with the food commodity prices soaring in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s biggest commodity trading market. The UN Human Rights Council had attributed commodity futures trading to be the primary reason behind the global food crisis. Nearly 75 per cent of the blame for the unprecedented rise in food prices was directly linked to the exploitative commodity prices that prevailed.

India had escaped the global food crisis primarily because it had enough food stocks and also it had not linked its agriculture to the international futures market.

With public memory being short, the corona virus pandemic has perhaps come knocking at the right time. For past several years, mainline economists and policy makers have been seeking the reversal of the food procurement system that is primarily responsible for building the food reserves so essential for ensuring household food security. With all eyes on dismantling the network of regulated mandis under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, the government is keen to gradually withdraw from the open-ended procurement of wheat and rice. The Prime Minister Office has already written a letter to the Punjab government asking why the open-ended procurement under which whatever quantity of wheat and rice farmers bring to the mandis the government is under obligation to procure at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), is not curtailed.

The basic objective being to liberalise the agricultural markets which, in turn means not learning enough from what led to the global food crisis. Any tinkering with the food procurement system built so assiduously over the years is certainly fraught with unforeseen dangers. More so in a country which has the worst child mortality in the world, with over 8.80-lakh children succumbing to malnutrition and related ailments every year, termed by the UNICEF as – burden of death – clearly shows the problem is not with surplus food the country has but with its (mis)management. More so, at a time when the country ranks 102 among 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index.

Therefore, the policy makers need to listen again and again to what Dr M S Swaminathan had once said: “Future belongs to nations with grains and not guns.”India cannot afford to go back to the days of ‘ship-to-mouth’ existence when food would come directly from the ships to feed the hungry. #

India has enough food stocks to tide over CoronaVirus crisis. Deccan Herald. Mar 20, 2020

READ MORE - No need to panic; India has enough food stocks to tide over Corona Virus crisis

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Financial aid to the poor is a subsidy, to the rich, an incentive


No jargon -- RBI should inform people in simple terms about the severity of the crisis that banks are faced with --pic LiveMint

Playing around with words, one has to marvel at the creative ability of economists, bankers and corporate managers who come up with phrases or terminology that hides more than what it reveals.

Well, as if the commonly used term -- Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) -- is not enough, the global banking group Credit Suisse has now come up with the use of a new term -- Impaired assets. And while you are struck at what ‘impaired asset’ means, India Ratings says in a study that 25 per cent of the Rs 10.52-lakh crore of corporate debt over the next three years is likely to turn ‘delinquent’, resulting in an additional Rs 2.54-lakh crore of ‘delinquent debt’. If you are wondering what ‘delinquent’ means in this context, let me explain. A loan becomes ‘delinquent’ when the payment is not made in time. 

It took me some time to figure out what impaired assets means. The term may already be in use by accountants but for an average reader it certainly is new. Despite a decline in gross NPAs, the total impaired assets of the banking sector, as of Dec 2019, comes to Rs 16.88-lakh crore screamed a newspaper headline. Reading carefully, it emerged that impaired assets actually means the total write-offs of Rs 7.77-lakh crore since 2014 plus the outstanding NPAs of Rs 9.10 lakh crore. Add both the figures, the total impaired assets actually turns out to be the cumulative loss the banks are staring at.

The question that needs to be asked is why bankers simply can’t say that the banks have incurred a loss of Rs 16.88-lakh crores between FY 2014 and Dec 2019. Even if technically speaking, “written-off’ allows the banks the right to continue with the recovery process, the total loss figure can be revised as and when the bank books are finally closed. In any case, recovery measures have not yielded more than 15 to 20 per cent of what is once written-off. So why complicate it for the general public? Let them know the severity of the crisis that the banks are faced with. After all, it is public money that goes into recapitalising the banks and people have the right to know. But hold on, did you hear any economist express concern at the fiscal drag the burgeoning impaired assets of banks will result in?

It has always been a clever play with vocabulary. When an ordinary borrower fails to repay the bank he/she is called a defaulter. A cibil score even provides a summary of your credit history. But when a company defaults on a loan, it is not called as a defaulter. It is labelled under NPA, which means it has faulted on a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment has remained overdue for a period of 90 days. Within this category, there is a classification of ‘wilful defaulters’ who actually have the ability to pay back but they don’t. The government acknowledges that number of such ‘wilful defaulters’ has risen by 60 per cent in the five year period, 2014 to 2019. If there are ’wilful defaulters’ among the corporate why the NPAs can’t be simply clubbed as corporate defaults? Let the people know in a simple language they can understand the total amount of loans that the companies have defaulted in.

Further, to hide these ‘wilful defaulters’ the RBI has been withholding these names from being made public. A heightened fear is created as if revealing these names will jeopardise the economy. But when it comes to defaulting farmers, their names and pictures are displayed in tehsil headquarters. While the defaulting farmers with petty outstanding amounts often end up in jail, the banks take a ‘haircut’ to bailout the defaulting corporate with massive outstanding toxic debts. A ‘haircut’ means the loss a bank will suffer when a defaulting company fails to pay up. It is the bank that bears massive losses, while the corporate borrower is free of the financial debt. Wonder, why can’t ordinary citizens who are unable to pay back their home/car loans too get the benefit of a haircut?

As per news reports, banks are expecting zero recovery from the ongoing 354 liquidation cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) resolutions lined up for 2020. This means banks will take a ‘haircut’ of Rs 3.55-lakh crore.

It doesn’t end here. When the poor are given financial aid it is dubbed as subsidy. And subsidy is a highly demonised word. The moment the government announces a subsidy for farmers or for the poor it is invariably followed by an uproar. This is a wasteful expenditure; this subsidy amount will widen the fiscal deficit; and where will the money come from are some of the usual questions. But when the government provides financial aid or grant to the industry, a different term is used -- Incentive for growth. While subsidies for the poor are considered bad for the economy, incentives are projected as an investment for economic growth.

Often on panel discussions whenever I would say that incentives for growth are also subsidies, my co-panelists would question my understanding of economics, saying that incentives are absolutely necessary for economic development whereas subsidies are a fiscal drain. This was very rightly answered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the 2016 ET Global Business Summit when he asked whether this difference in language is a reflection of the difference in our attitude. When a benefit is given to a farmer or poor, experts and government officers normally call it a subsidy. But when a benefit is given to the industry it becomes an incentive. Saying that government support should not be viewed from any ideological position, the Prime Minister wondered how experts would react if fertiliser subsidy is renamed as ‘incentive for agricultural production’.

Imagine, if the incentives the industry gets were to be renamed as subsidies? Imagine if the food subsidy was to be renamed as ‘incentive for food security’? That’s the kind of mindset change the country desperately needs. #

Source: Of Incentives to firms & Subsidies to poor. The Tribune. Mar 16, 2020. 

READ MORE - Financial aid to the poor is a subsidy, to the rich, an incentive

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Amid traumatic threat, seminar discusses trauma reporting

(DERRY AND BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND)-As we bumped elbows in greeting, an odd gesture done in lieu of hand-shaking, it occurred to me that the two trauma reporting seminars that we did last Thursday in Derry and Friday in Belfast may be the last such face-to-face seminars in Northern Ireland for weeks, even months, thanks to Covid-19.
At BelfastMet trauma reporting seminar
(Photo by Allan Leonard)

While attendance at the Derry event was low, the Belfast seminar at BelfastMet College’s E-3 Campus was well attended. Most of the Belfast attendees were BelfastMet students.

At the outset, I was worried that the minds of both the participants and attendees wouldn't be focused on the subject at hand, but instead on the Covid 19 virus. I know my attention seemed divided. However, the workshops’ energetic presenters and inquisitive attendees soon disabused me of this notion.

The first presenter, journalist Kathryn Johnston, talked about her murdered friend and reporting colleague Lyra McKee, and about how journalists continue to operate under threat in Northern Ireland. Johnston said McKee would “have been the first to look and those who shot her and ask why.” Later, Johnston would discuss the establishment of a bursary (scholarship/grant) in Lyra’s name to support young journalists engaged in depth reporting. Details about the bursary are still pending, she said.

Paul Gallagher, WAVE trauma centre (Photo by Allan Leonard)
Paul Gallagher, a Queen’s University lecturer, Ph.D. candidate, and survivor of “Troubles” violence that left him without the use of his legs, then discussed trauma and victims. He talked about how victims are not homogenous, and indeed the appropriateness of using the label “victim.” (Gallagher, who also works with the WAVE Trauma Centre, doesn’t mind being called a victim since “it doesn’t define me.”) He talked about how the clock stops on one’s previous life after a trauma, and how victims are often vulnerable and stigmatized. He led an interesting discussion about how journalists can exacerbate trauma, and what role, if any, journalists have in repairing trauma. Gallagher finished by sharing his tips for more responsible trauma reporting including validating individual experiences, helping to create a trauma-informed society, and two themes I would discuss later—giving victims back their voice, and countering dominant narratives about victims.

Peace journalism pioneer Dr. Jake Lynch from the University of Sydney discussed several concepts of peace, including justpeace, defined as a process of peaccebuilding that includes adaptive processes, structures, and practices grounded in relationships and characterized by low violence and high justice. He also discussed peacebulding gaps like the difficulty in transferring grassroots peacebuilding energy and ideas to decision-makers and elites higher up the food chain. Later, Lynch presented ideas about how media can structure itself to favor justpeace. He cited several examples from Northern Ireland showing media already doing this, including View magazine’s victims issue. Lynch finished by discussing media effects, and a study he led that demonstrated the efficacy of the peace journalism approach in creating societal opportunities for justpeace.

In a presentation on covering anniversaries and marches, journalist Alan Meban led a discussion about the phrases used in such coverage (flashpoints, sectarian, controversial), and shepherded an interesting critique of several stories, one of which discussed the anniversary of a “Troubles” bombing, while the other covered a gay pride parade using hateful, stereotyping language like “flamboyant.”

I presented on socially responsible trauma reporting, and shared with the crowd several pillars of such reporting. (See below)
Good student feedback at BelfastMet's E-3 Campus
(Photo by Allan Leonard)

Journalists and Shared Future News editor Allan Leonard showed the attendees many platforms that display more responsible trauma reporting coverage which offers counternarratives and the voice of the voiceless. These include Peace Direct, Café Babel, France 24 (FOCUS segments), NVTV from Northern Ireland, Northern Slant, and Shared Future News (https://sharedfuture.news/).

After the BelfastMet seminar, it dawned on me that, tragically, there will probably be more victims being created both in Northern Ireland and the world, and that our seminar, sadly, could not have been more timely. On this count, I fervently hope I’m wrong.

The Northern Ireland peace journalism project was sponsored by the US Embassy-London and the US Consulate-Belfast.

PILLARS OF RESPONSIBLE CONFLICT AND TRAUMA REPORTING—

Ask yourself these questions: What does the public need to know, and how much coverage is too much? When do reporters become obsessed with a story when the public is not? A community is more than a mass killing or disaster or conflict.

1. Always consider the impact of your reporting. Don’t gratuitously make things worse for the people whose stories you report, or for the general public. 
2. Accuracy is paramount. First rumors can be dramatic and exaggerated. Facts can be slippery in mid-crisis. Inaccurately quoting a victim can be traumatic. Check, double check, triple check facts.Make sure the person knows you will have to check the facts. Go back over the interview with them.
3. Journalists should thoughtfully select the images they use, understanding that they can misrepresent an event, exacerbate an already dire situation, and re-victimize those who have been traumatized.
4. Don’t prematurely jump on the “blame” bandwagon, or to conclusions, and consider the impact of “blame” reporting on traumatized victims and the public. Later, journalists should lead societal discussions about solutions (without advocating for any one solution).
5. Don’t intrude. The National Union of Journalists (UK) code of conduct says, a journalist “does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest. Be honest and clear about what you are doing. Identify yourself.
6. Avoid inflammatory, sensational language that exacerbates or fuels conflict or trauma. Never embellish stories. 
7. Do your research so you know the background and be sensitive to contested narratives and language.
8. When reporting about conflict or trauma, journalists should give a voice to the vulnerable, marginalized voiceless in their societies—women, youth, minorities, the poor, etc.
9. Journalists should reject formulaic, stereotypical coverage and instead offer counternarratives about the trauma, its impact, and those affected.
--From: https://dartcenter.org/sites/default/files/DCE_JournoTraumaHandbook.pdf ; NUJ Trauma Reporting Handbook, and developed from principles of peace journalism by Steven Youngblood



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Wednesday, March 11, 2020


PJ, ETHICS, AND MARTYRDOM IN N.I.
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)-I’ve had some interesting discussions about whether journalists should use the term “martyr,” but none so engaging as our interchange yesterday at the US Consulate.

In previous seminars in Kashmir and Beirut, journalists told me that they labeled anyone who died fighting Israelis or Indians a martyr. I told them that, to me, using this term puts gasoline on the fire and exacerbates tensions and divisions. 

Here in Belfast, the discussion centered around those who self identify as martyrs as they commit some heinous act like blowing themselves up. Should the press call them martyrs, since that’s what they call themselves? Several attendees said yes, that it’s journalists’ obligation to use people’s self identification. I’m not so sure, I said. What if the bomber called himself a hero? Should the press repeat that label?

We also had a vibrant talk about false equivalencies, and the pitfalls they pose for journalists. This topic is especially fraught here, given Northern Ireland’s history.
My presentation introduced peace journalism and reconciliation, and showed their connection to traditional journalism ethics. One participant was skeptical, saying that peace journalism “doesn’t exist” and is merely good journalism. I replied that PJ is grounded in good journalism, but is transcendent since it includes suggestions that media give a voice to the voiceless, discuss solutions, and offer counternarrative storytelling.

My visit here this week is sponsored by the U.S. Consulate and U.S. Embassy in London. It continues with two trauma reporting workshops on Thursday in Derry and Friday in Belfast.



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Monday, March 9, 2020

SESSION CONSIDERS SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT, FUTURE
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)-It was ironic, and poignant, that my first presentation in Belfast this month was at the Girdwood Community Hub, a former army barracks during the Troubles repurposed as a community center.


At the event sponsored by Belfast Metropolitan College, I spoke briefly about social media and peace journalism. I led off with an interesting stat, a poll showing that only 22% of Northern Irish trust social media. My message was that social media can better serve the public, and peace, using peace journalism principles.

In a vibrant discussion after my talk, the most difficult question thrown my way asked me to predict the future of social media. My “glass half empty” response was that social media will increasingly empower demagogues and authoritarian regimes. My “glass half full” response was that an increasingly media literate public will use social media as a tool to build bridges and facilitate dialogues for peace.

I was also asked to predict the 2016 US presidential election, which I did.

My presentation was part of a conference at BelfastMet that introduced participants, many of whom work with disadvantaged youth, to a program called Live Skills, which helps young people develop careers in fields using digital technologies (creative media, digital art and design, and digital marketing).


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Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Top 5 Parent Rights In School Expulsion Hearings

By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995

Expulsion hearings are horrific for parents due to the suddenness and shock of the situation ("expulsion- what?!"), and the lack of experience most parents have in the expulsion hearing process.  Top this off with administrators who may tell parents that, "The hearing panel will understand," (when they won't) or "You should do the hearing fast so Joe can get back to school," (when the administrators know that Joe probably will be expelled, not returned to school), and other falsehoods to lull parents into a false sense of security.  It is all very difficult to say the least.  If parents don't watch it and get educated, they may end up with their child expelled, and wonder what just happened.  

So, I thought it may be a good idea to remind parents of some of their key rights in the California public school expulsion process.

1)  The Right To An Expulsion Hearing:  This is one of the most basic rights of all (see California Education Code Section §48918(a)(1).  Many districts attempt to get parents to waive this right and sign a "stipulated expulsion" where they agree to the expulsion.  Whether this is a good idea will depend on the charges, circumstances, the child's discipline history, his/her guilt and other factors, but rule number one is don't just waive your hearing without considering everything and what the terms of the discipline proposal are.

2)  The Right To Proper Notice Of Hearing:  The District has to forward a written hearing notice 10 days prior to any expulsion hearing date per Education Code §48918(b) with certain mandated notifications included in the hearing notice.  The failure of a school district to meet this timeline can be instrumental in getting an expulsion overturned on appeal.  

3) The Right To Request And Obtain All Evidence And Documentation Pre-Hearing:  Parents need to request their child's complete educational files, as well as the school district expulsion packet early in the process.  Per Education Code §49069.7, parents have the right to all of their child's records, and per Education Code §48918(b)(5) they have a right to the expulsion records and evidence.  I have had parents tell me they did not get the evidence the school presented at hearing, or they were not received until the hearing was held.  This can be prevented by making a written request for documents early in the process.

4)  The Right To Never Have An Expulsion Proceed Based On "Hearsay" Alone:  This is a big thing, and is somewhat complex.  Attorneys have a whole year in law school on the rules of evidence, and hearsay is a very key part of these rules.  There is no way I can explain what hearsay is here, but needless to say, generally, if the student did not admit he "did it," and there are no witnesses at hearing in person who testify to what they saw (excluding an alleged sexual battery/assault victim), generally an expulsion cannot proceed, see California Education Code §48918(f)(2).  School districts break this rule frequently, with hearings where no one testifies and no witness says the student "did it" at the hearing itself.  I must caution, there are very complex rules around this, what does and does not count as "hearsay,"  the allowed process for getting "hearsay" documents admitted as "non-hearsay" etc,  but schools often mess this up.  This can also be a great reason to overturn an expulsion on appeal.

5)  The Right To Not Have Your Child Testify At The Hearing:  This is a very important right for parents, and whether a family exercises this right, will depend on the situation, and the evidence.  This right stems from the basic right to make decisions with regard to your child which every parent shares.  Whether your child should testify is VERY TRICKY TO EVALUATE and sometimes it is good for them to talk.  In other cases, it is not positive for them to speak, as the child may prove the school's case for them (e.g. it may help the school to expel them).  This is so difficult to determine, that sometimes I cannot evaluate whether a student should testify until the school has presented their case at the actual hearing itself.  

Whether a student should testify has to be evaluated matter to matter, depending on the unique facts and evidence in the case.  I list this as important here as most parents think they HAVE TO have their child speak as they are told this by school or district personnel and also at the hearing itself.  Parents may even be sneered at or invalidated if they refuse to allow their child to testify, but regardless, the parents are the ones who determine if they will allow their child to testify at an expulsion hearing.

There are many other rights in expulsion hearings, but parents should first get familiar with these five to help their children in the terrible process which school expulsion is for everyone concerned, but most particularly their child. 

Best,

 

Michelle Ball

Education Law Attorney 

 

LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE BALL 

717 K Street, Suite 228 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

Phone: 916-444-9064 

Email:help@edlaw4students.com 

Fax: 916-444-1209

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Please see my disclaimer on the bottom of my blog page. This is legal information, not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by this posting, etc. etc.!  This blog may not be reproduced without permission from the author and proper attribution of authorship. This blog may not reflect the current state of the law.


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