Posted inCriminal Justice

A Son Shot His Teacher. His Mother’s Prison Sentence Raises Questions.

Ten days before Christmas, a Virginia state court judge will determine if Deja Taylor should receive the maximum sentence of five years in prison for child neglect. Taylor’s 6-year-old son carried her handgun to school in January and shot his teacher.  The 26-year-old Newport News mom has already started a 21-month federal prison sentence in […]

Posted inEducation, K-12

Becky Pringle: The Black Woman Representing Teachers Across the Country

Many Americans learned Becky Pringle’s name for the first time last week, when she testified about the nation’s gun violence epidemic in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.  Pringle, president of the National Education Association, recounted the stories of several deadly shootings that have struck schools nationwide recently, including last month’s massacre […]

Posted inEducation, K-12

How Police Officers Started Working at Schools — And Why Some People Want Them Out

It’s been 10 days since a gunman infiltrated an elementary school in the small town of Uvalde, Texas, fatally shooting 19 students and two teachers. But many questions remain about how police officers handled the tragic event and whether lives could have been spared. Families’ accounts of begging police officers to enter the school — […]

Posted inHealth, Mental Health

The Invisible Effects of Gun Violence on Children

The nation’s most recent school shooting — which left 19 fourth-graders and two teachers dead in a Texas classroom — has again forced parents to question their children’s safety. While gun violence has become a near-universal fear for Americans, children from underrepresented backgrounds often are most susceptible.  Capital B spoke with Charity Brown Griffin, a […]