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Safety Law News for September 2nd, 2020

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— In New York, the Massena Central School District is looking for a local law enforcement agency to supply it with a school resource officer.  Its contract with the Massena Police Department was not renewed.   The department cited potential liability as one of the reasons for not renewing the contract.  Educators have reached out to see if the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office would be interested in partnering with them.

— In Washington State, the Court of Appeals of Washington held that a school was not liable for ongoing impairment related to a concussion a student received while on a school sponsored trip.  The court ruled that while schools have “an enhanced and solemn duty to protect minor students in their care,” the educators properly notified the parents of the incident after which the parents could have inquired further of the District, requested a medical evaluation, or instructed that the child be held out of further activities.  [Anderson v. Snohomish School District No. 201]

— In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida upheld the conviction of a teacher for child abuse upon evidence that the preschool student was pushed and tripped multiple times.  The court ruled that the teacher was not entitled to acquittal due to the fact that the student was not being physically injured because the statute defined child abuse as “intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child.”  [Stillions v. State]

— In Illinois, the Chicago Board of Education voted to keep its contract with Chicago police.  School officials said that several reforms have been made to the program, including more training for officers.

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Safety Law News for August 28th, 2020

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that school officials violated the rights of a student who was suspended from the cheerleading team for violating the personal conduct rules for cheerleaders.  The court ruled that the student, who posted a picture of herself with the caption “fuck cheer” to Snapchat, did not waive her First Amendment rights.  The court said that school officials did not have authority to punish speech that took place off campus and could not be reasonably interpreted as bearing the school’s imprimatur.  [B.L. by & through Levy v. Mahanoy Area Sch. Dist.]

— In Nebraska, the City of Lincoln and Lincoln Public Schools approved the continuation of the Safe and Successful Kids interlocal agreement that includes funding for school resource officers. The programs increases school security through three programming areas: Protective (SROs), preventative (mental health supports) and proactive (Community Learning Center before- and after-programs).

— In North Carolina, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved $2.5 million in contracts with the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office and Kernersville Police Department to provide school resource officers to middle schools and high schools.

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Safety Law News for August 25th, 2020

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— In Maine, the United States Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction that prevented school officials from suspending a student who posted a sticky note in the bathroom that said, “THERE’S A RAPIST IN OUR SCHOOL AND YOU KNOW WHO IT IS.”  The court reasoned that the anonymous note was entitled to First Amendment protection.  After applying the Tinker test,  the court held that educators had not shown a causal connection between the sticky note and bullying. [Norris on behalf of A.M. v. Cape Elizabeth Sch. District]

— In New Mexico,  after the Las Cruces Public Schools Board failed to approve a contract to retain two school resource officers, parents are asking the school officials to reconsider.

— In Virginia, the Gloucester County School Board passed a resolution in support of school resource officers.  The school board is requesting that Governor Northam, along with the Senate of Virginia and Virginia House of Delegates, maintain and keep the School Resource Officer Grants Program.

— In Arkansas, after four hours of hearings from the public, schools and police, the Fayetteville City Council rejected a grant that would have funded two more school resource officers in the Fayetteville School District.

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Safety Law News for August 21, 2020.

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— In New Mexico, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico ruled that a student’s statements, made when he was thirteen years old, to the assistant principal of his school, were presumptively inadmissible under a state law that provides that, “[t]here is a rebuttable presumption that any confessions, statements or admissions made by a child thirteen or fourteen years old to a person in a position of authority are inadmissible.”  The court reasoned that the Legislature intended assistant principals to be included as persons in a “position of authority,” when the educator shares the information with a police officer who uses it to initiate a delinquency proceeding.  [State v. Cesar B.]

— In Illinois, the City of Chicago is amending its requirements for school resource officers.  Officers with recorded allegations of excessive force, or complaints of inappropriate interactions with youth will no longer be eligible to serve in schools.  Officers will no longer be allowed to enter student names into the police department’s gang database nor cooperate with immigration officers.

— In North Carolina, school officials in Craven County say there is still a need for resource officers despite remote learning.  School resource officers will still conduct security checks throughout the day, making sure there aren’t any problems.  Some school workers are bringing their children to work because of the pandemic.   School resource officers in Onslow County are also adjusting how they operate this year due to the pandemic with students returning to campus.

— In Virginia, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is upgrading its crisis intervention training program for school resource officers.  It is adding a new module called Advanced Crisis Intervention.  The advanced course focuses on children, with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Safety Law News for August 18, 2020

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— In Colorado, the United States District Court held that the authority of school officials to discipline student speech under Tinker v. Des Moines Schools (393 U.S. 503 (1969)), applied to the off-campus speech of student who posted a picture to the social media platform Snapchat with the caption: “Me and the boys bout to exterminate the Jews.”  The court held that despite the Supreme Court’s long-standing distinction between on-campus or school-sponsored speech, “that [t]he pervasive and omnipresent nature of the Internet has obfuscated the on-campus/off-campus distinction…mak[ing] any effort to trace First Amendment boundaries along the physical boundaries of a school campus a recipe for serious problems in our public schools.” [C1.G. v. Siegfried]

— In Alabama, the City of Altoona and the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office are partnering for the 2020-2021 school year to continue the school resource officer program.

— In Canada, funding has been pulled for school resource officers at two Ottawa-Carleton District School Board high schools, following a vote by school board trustees.

— In Virginia, the Radford City School Board passed a resolution in support of school resource officers.  The Board statement said that, “Radford City Schools has a strong partnership with our city’s police department. We appreciate that the SRO’s are building relationships with students and are valuable resources within the Radford community. We are pleased to have them in our buildings.”

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Safety Law News for August 5th, 2020

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— In California, the California Court of Appeal overturned a probation condition requiring a search of a student’s electronic devices.  The student was declared a ward of the juvenile court after being found vaping and in possession of a knife at school.  The juvenile court imposed an electronic search condition, requiring the student to submit to search and seizure of electronic devices within his control, and disclose passwords or other information required for access.  The appellate court disagreed, ruling that a probation condition must be “information in the record establishing a connection between the search condition and the probationer’s criminal conduct or personal history.”  (In re Austin H.)

— In Virginia,  Southwest Virginia school boards are adopting resolutions in support of school resource officers.  The resolution is meant to send Gov. Ralph Northam’s office a message that SROs play a vital role in safety and the community.

— In Arkansas, the Fayetteville City Council votes down funding for additional school resource officers.  The officials were unable to agree on the roles and qualifications of the persons who would serve as SROs.   One proposal was that the person be licensed in social work, therapy or similar field.  The deputy Police Chief said finding a qualified applicant would be extremely difficult.

— In Michigan, the Ypsilanti Community Schools Board has ended its school resource officer program.  Parents said they’d still like to see the district partner with law enforcement in other ways.