Droning away: Which agencies requested FAA permission for spy drones?

Which Texas police agencies  and  educational institutions have requested permission to  use unmanned drones from the Federal Aviation Administration? Reports Texas Watchdog, via EFF:

Texas is home to many: the Houston and Arlington police departments; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Hays County Office of Emergency Management in San Marcos; Texas A&M University Corpus Christi; Texas A&M – Texas Engineering Experiment Station in College Station and Texas State University in San Marcos

Further,

See a map of the agencies given permission to fly drones here.

EFF officials also obtained a list of private drone manufacturers authorized to fly drones domestically.

We're all safer now: Austin teacher busted for .033 oz of pot

Reports Austin's KXAN-TV:

An Austin high school geography teacher has been arrested and charged with having marijuana and paraphernalia at his home, which is located within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.

Police had a search warrant for Ian Kristofer Grayson's single-family residence in the 6000 block of Leisure Run Road, located near Odom Elementary School.

Grayson, 34, has been a teacher at Austin High School since 2009, and from 2006 to 2009 he taught world history at International High School.

During the search, officers found .033 ounces of marijuana in two different glass containers and also in a trash container, which was empty except for the bag of pot and drug paraphernalia, according to Austin Police Department. Marijuana pipes, residue and other paraphernalia were found in various locations inside the home, including his bedroom, according to the arrest affidavit.

Since when does Austin PD seek search warrants for pot smokers? They'd have time to do nothing else if that were a common practice. It's worth mentioning they found less than a gram of pot, combined, scattered across three different locations in the house. Not exactly a kingpin, this fellow. Was this worth ruining the guy's life over - making him lose his job, trouncing him in the media? Who, if anyone, benefits?

One doubts Grayson's students would say they're better off for his arrest. One former student commented on the KXAN site, "I remember Ian Grayson from when I went to Austin High because he gave me a hug on my last day there." Another student declared, "Gotta love how they fire the best history teacher at our school because of something so stupid as possession. I guess an illegal plant takes more priority over a good education."

Whaddya think? Should police be executing search warrants in private homes for petty pot violations? Was AISD right to put the fellow on administrative leave or should he be reinstated?

Voters and the press should demand all Austin mayoral and city council candidates address this question as we approach city elections in May. Notably, in recent years Austin PD has placed increasingly greater emphasis on marijuana enforcement, with the number of new pot cases increasing 69% from 2007 to 2010. One wonders, for what purpose? Does that really reflect the priorities City Council expects APD to be focused on?

MORE (4/26).

Tax-exempt prison property squeezing Huntsville ISD

There's an interesting article in the Huntsville Item ("HISD looks at ways to reduce expenses," April 2) with a reference to the impact of TDCJ's ownership of vast swaths of property in Walker County on the local school district's tax base:

Because a large portion of land in Walker County is owned by the state through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or Sam Houston State University, Huntsville schools have a hard time raising tax dollars from the community because of the low amount of property tax available.

“In districts adjacent to federal facilities, like Fort Hood, they can get federal impact aid,” Johnson said. “They recognize that their ability to raise tax dollars locally is limited because a lot of the land is tax exempt. I'm going to suggest that the state consider state impact aid for Huntsville because of the state-owned facilities in this district.”

Johnson said the ability of Huntsville to raise money is limited compared with areas where the land is not tax exempt.

“That's just the situation here,” he said. “What we do know is there's nothing on the horizon saying there's a lot of new money being sent out to schools.”

Grits seriously doubts the state will replicate "federal impact aid" to subsidize local property taxes anytime soon, but what it could, and should do is change narrowly targeted policies to reduce incarceration levels, close more prison units and sell off land near existing developments, shifting more real property back onto the tax rolls.

'School Discipline: A Pathway to the Juvenile Justice System or an Opportunity for Effective Intervention?'

Michelle Deitch asked me to post this announcement about an upcoming event focused on school discipline at UT's LBJ School with the same appellation as this headline:

The Barbara Jordan Freedom Foundation Symposium

“School Discipline: A Pathway to the Juvenile Justice System or an Opportunity for Effective Intervention?”

Monday, February 20, 2012

1:00 – 5:00 pm

The Barbara Jordan Freedom Foundation, in collaboration with the Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, will present a symposium focused on the issues of school discipline and the juvenile justice system on Monday, February 20, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.  The event, which takes place the week of Barbara Jordan’s birthday, is also co-sponsored by the William Wayne Justice Center at the University of Texas School of Law.

Texas State Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson will deliver the keynote address at 1 p.m. The keynote will be followed by three panels featuring elected officials, policymakers, and juvenile justice and education experts.  Confirmed speakers to date include Texas State Senator John Whitmire, Tony Fabelo (Council on State Governments Justice Center and author of Breaking Schools’ Rules report), Deborah Fowler (Texas Appleseed), Travis County Juvenile Judge Jeanne Meurer, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, Prof. Brenda Scheuermann (national PBIS expert), Frank Vega (expert on children's mental health and trauma), and Mel Waxler (AISD). The first panel will focus on understanding the current policy landscape, including recent research on school suspensions and expulsions, and ticketing practices. The second panel will cover effective interventions with misbehaving students, and the third panel will center on shifting the culture surrounding school discipline and implementing reforms at the district level.  An agenda with a complete list of speakers is forthcoming and will be available here.

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. To register, please visit: http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/news/barbarajordan/registration

The event will take place at the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Bass Lecture Hall, located at 2315 Red River St., Austin, Texas, 78712. 

For more information, please contact the symposium chair,  Michele Deitch, at Michele.Deitch@mail.utexas.edu.

The Barbara Jordan Freedom Foundation (BJFF) is a new organization dedicated to perpetuating the legacy of Barbara Jordan by inspiring America to achieve the promise of freedom and justice for all people, by promoting the success of children through early childhood opportunities and effective education, and by confronting injustices and inequities in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.  The organization’s initial focus will be on issues related to school discipline.