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Safety Law News for July 28, 2020

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— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by parents whose kindergarten child was assaulted in the bathroom.   The court held that “schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students…and will be held liable for foreseeable injuries.” Then the court ruled that because school policy kept information about incidents from being shared with teachers and staff, the educators failed to establish that they lacked notice of prior similar sexual assaults. (Charles D.J. v. City of Buffalo & Buffalo Bd. of Education)

— In New York, the Massena Central School District Board of Education will retain its school resource officer program but have decided to cancel the agreement with local law enforcement so it can hire its own officers.

— In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Justice has expanded the resources available to schools through its Office of School Safety by creating the “Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center.”  The center will have staff available 24/7 to consult with schools on assessing safety threats, coordinating crisis response teams and operating a statewide school threat reporting system.

— In California, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to permanently end its School Resource Officer program and to redirect the funds to socio-emotional counselors and into the creation of wellness centers and cultural sensitivity programs.

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Safety Law News for July 21, 2020

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that educators violated the First Amendment rights of a student who after failing to make the school’s varsity cheerleading team, posted on the Internet the comment, “Fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything.”  The school suspended the student from the junior varsity team.  The court applied the Tinker standard and ruled that the student’s post was off-campus speech, non-disruptive speech and was not subject to regulation.  To rule otherwise would be “reducing the free speech rights of all young people who happen to be enrolled in public school.”  (B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District)

— In Minnesota, the Minneapolis Board of Education is quietly hiring security guards to replace the police that it unanimously voted to expel from its campuses.  The posting seeks full-time public safety support specialists (PSSS) who must have law enforcement degrees and experience. Their list of responsibilities include breaking up fights, monitoring security at events, and providing a bridge between in-school intervention and law enforcement. 

— In Indiana, school officials in the Avon Community Schools are launching a school police department.  The Superintendent believes that the schools “need support from people who are specially-trained in handling legal situations that we as teachers and principals aren’t trained to handle.”

— In Minnesota, the St. Cloud Area School District 742 School Board voted to renew its contract with local area law enforcement and continue its School Resource Officer program.  Educators believe that SROs deal with students not just on delinquent conduct, but also help students deal with tough issues at home and are beneficial at the school and in the community.

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Safety Law News for July 17, 2020

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— In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida, denied the appeal by one of the unarmed campus monitors on duty February 14, 2018 at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  The officer claimed he was entitled to immunity.  The court affirmed the lower court ruling that the allegations against the officer — that his negligence was the cause of the deaths – were sufficient to avoid the defense of sovereign immunity.

(Medina v. Pollack)

— In Illinois, the Austin Local School Council at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School voted unanimously to keep school resource officers on campus.  “We do need the officers for the safety of students and the staff,” said a community representative on the council.

— In Iowa,  The Clinton School Board and the Clinton City Council approved an agreement to extend the school resource officer program in the Clinton School District for five years.

— In Virginia, a survey found that Stafford County teachers overwhelmingly support police officers in the schools.  Nearly 90% of county teachers surveyed want school resource officers, while 5% surveyed were neutral, and 5% were anti-SRO.  The teachers’ comments were heavily in favor of SRO’s proactive roles in providing safety, guidance, mentorship, and community outreach for all staff and students.

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Safety Law News for July 14, 2020

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— In Kentucky, the United States District Court ruled that school police had probable cause to arrest a parent for terroristic threatening in the second degree.  The parent, in anger, told a school administrator, “[i]f you let bullies run your school, there’s going to be an issue like Sandy Hook…if I have to run through the woods in a ghillie suit, I’m going to protect him.”  The parent was dissatisfied after multiple meetings with school officials about his son’s victimization at the hands of other students.  The court ruled that probable cause requires only the probability of criminal activity, not some type of prima facie showing and that it was sufficient that the officer believed the school was under imminent threat of harm. (Adams v. Wechsler)

— In Oklahoma, the Board of Education for Oklahoma City Public Schools voted to renew its school resource officers program with the Oklahoma City Police Department.  School resource officers are permitted to arrest anyone violating state or city laws. They are instructed to prevent “improper conduct” and trespassing, the contract states.

— In Missouri, officials in Camden County have agreed to place resource officers in its schools for the first time.  With the help of a grant, the full-time school resource officers will be deployed to schools for three years.

— In Massachusetts, the Northampton School Committee passed a nonbinding resolution urging the Northampton City Council to not employ school resource officers in district schools.

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Safety Law News for July 10, 2020

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— In Arizona, the Phoenix Union Governing Board announced it will modify its Intergovernmental Agreement with Phoenix Police for School Resource Officers for the 2020-2021 academic year.  They will use off-duty officers, when needed, to assist with required law enforcement notifications, campus and community safety needs, and other mandatory reporting issues. Officers will be assigned to districts, not schools.

— In Delaware,  the Red Clay Consolidated School District board struck down a resolution that would have eliminated school resource officers. Instead, the board will keep the SRO program and will form an advisory committee to further discuss the issue with the community and students and gather more data.  It follows a similar decision by the Christina School District to keep its police officers.

— In Arizona, the Tolleson Union High School District is renewing its use of police officers on campus after receiving another three years of state grant funding.  The officer on its high school campus is tasked with the additional duties of educating students and school personnel with information about topics such as dealing with peer pressure, child abuse, gangs, drug awareness.

— In Illinois, the board for the Oak Park and River Forest High School District has voted to terminate the school resource officer program.  Terminating the agreement, they said, had more to do with getting rid of a program that they don’t believe comports with the restorative justice and racial equity-centered direction the school is going in.

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Safety Law News for July 7, 2020

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— In Ohio, the Columbus Police Chief will not renew the school resource program after the end of the contract with the Columbus City Schools.  The three-year contract expired on June 30.  The decision is proactive in light of a prior decision by the school district to create a committee to analyze the district’s use of school resource officers and their possible removal.

— In Arizona, the Tempe Union Governing Board is considering changes to its school safety program.  A high school senior delivered an extemporaneous 11-minute speech to the Board on what he called its “misguided” effort to eliminate SROs on four campuses.  His comments included his belief that, “[a]n SRO is not the reason that George Floyd died,” and “for us to entertain this conversation is … a disservice to what really needs to be said,” and that he and his fellow students have had “many more interactions involving racial bias and mistreatment from teachers and administrators than with any SRO,” and said the board should be talking with students about that and changing the culture in schools rather than look at resource officers.

— In Massachusetts, the Framingham School Committee has unanimously recommended that the district undertake a series of changes to improve the school resource officer program.  The recommendations include provide de-escalation training, frequent meetings between officers and students, a centralized review process whenever there is a hands-on incident, and “Know Your Rights” training for students.

— In Illinois, the Peoria Public Schools will not to renew its contract with the Peoria Police Department to provide school resource officers in its schools.  The school district will employ its own security department with unarmed officers. It is currently exploring operating its own certified police department with armed officers who have all authorized police powers.