Author: Bernie James

Safety Law News for March 28, 2018

In Texas, the Fort Worth Independent School District has granted the Fort Worth Police Department access to school video in real time whenever police deem it necessary.  School resource officers already have access and now Fort Worth Police will have…

Safety Law News for March 23, 2018

In Florida, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is shifting patrol and staffing assignments in order to increase its presence at Lee County Schools.  It will designate at least 40 additional officers as SROs and shift an additional 100 officers to…

Safety Law News for March 15, 2018

In Minnesota, a proposed Senate bill that would have eliminated state funding for police officers in school districts across the state has been reversed just two hours before the start of its first hearing in front of the Education Policy…

Safety Law News for March 13, 2018

In Florida, the Governor signed into law legislative reforms to school safety, mental health and gun-control measures.  Part of the $400 million allocated in the law will be used to hire and train more school resource officers and mental health…

Safety Law News for March 8, 2018

In Florida, the legislature has approved and sent to the Governor SB 7026 — the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.”  The legislation would raise the age to buy all firearms to 21 and impose a three-day waiting…

Safety Law News for March 2, 2018

In Florida, the Hernando County school board voted to add additional officers at schools in response to the Parkland tragedy. Only 13 of their 23 schools had school resource officers.  The policy is effective immediately.  The officers will be in…

Safety Law News for February 23, 2018

In Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals suppressed the statements of a student to a school official admitting placing graffiti on the walls of the boys’ restrooms.  The administrator immediately told a police officer, who entered the office, spoke to…

Safety Law News for February 20, 2018

In Ohio, the Ohio Court of Appeals upheld the suppression of statements made to police by a juvenile during an interrogation.  The court ruled that the juvenile’s waiver of his Miranda rights was not valid because (1) his first and…

Safety Law News for February 16, 2018

In Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that school officials had reasonable suspicion to compel a urinalysis drug test and later to terminate a teacher, who tested positive for cocaine metabolites. [Metz v. Bethlehem Area School District]   In…

Safety Law News for February 14, 2018

In Washington D.C., the U.S. Department of Education and the Trump Administration has decided to discontinue the prior policy of investigating civil rights complaints from transgender students barred from school bathrooms that match their gender identity.   In Maryland, the…