School Safety Law Blog – Page 66 – News and Information for School Safety

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Safety Law News for May 25, 2018

by Bernie James • May 25, 2018

In New York, the Warren County Supervisors have discovered that it will cost $2,500 per year to have each of the Sheriff’s Office school resource officers covered by the county’s liability insurance. County leaders agreed to have the county absorb the cost for the upcoming year and discuss the matter with schools for future years.

In Wyoming, the Campbell County School District has approved a new policy that will arm school staff members. Six school officials will undergo 40 hours of active shooter training that will be specific to what could happen with a shooter in school.

In Colorado, the Loveland Police Department accepted donated body armor from Steel Ops, a Fort Collins, Colorado company, for its school resource officers. The protection vests, each containing extra layers of steel plating are said to be “more than capable of handling any of the threats seen lately.”

In Wyoming, the Casper City Council passed a resolution declaring a commitment to play an active role in preventing school violence. A budget proposal looks to tripling the number of police officers working inside its schools.

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Safety Law News for May 22, 2018

by Bernie James • May 22, 2018

In Colorado, officials in the Denver Public Schools are exploring a new policy of creating an in-house school district police department. Under the plan, the goal is to select and train armed police officers with power to arrest students, but in a manner consistent with district restorative justice policy, thereby relying less on outside police and ending the school-to-jail pipeline.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that seeks to collect data on the number of school resource officers nationwide. House Resolution 5242, also known as the School Resource Officer Assessment Act, heads to the Senate for consideration. It will require the attorney general and the secretary of education to collect information on how many resource officers are in the nation’s 95,230 public schools.

In North Carolina, the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission voted to require all school resource officers to complete training authored by the North Carolina Justice Academy. The new policy is in response to a request by the State Attorney General mandatory training to improve school safety.

In New York, the Warren County Supervisors approved a new policy that will place a school resource officer in each school. Each school district will collaborate with the County Sheriff’s Office for selection, training, and supervision of the officers.

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Safety Law News for May 10, 2018

by Bernie James • May 10, 2018

In Missouri, a non-sworn security officer in the St. Louis County schools was arrested and charged with assault for violating school district policy when he used a Taser on an unarmed middle-school student. School district policy of the Normandy Schools Collaborative prohibits anyone other than a law enforcement officer from carrying any weapon capable of deadly use on school grounds.

In Indiana, officials in Lake County, Porter County, and LaPorte County are implementing agreements with local police to give them access to all school buildings using remote keyless entry fobs and swipe-cards. The memorandum of understanding also calls for each officer to be issued a school ID card. Some private schools are planning to join the memorandum.

In South Carolina, the South Carolina House of Representatives unanimously amended the state budget to let retired state workers return to a state job and be exempt from a $10,000 earnings cap on working retirees. The goal is to ease a statewide shortage of teachers and school resource officers.

In Michigan, the House of Representatives passed a set of school safety initiatives. A bipartisan six-bill package would create a school safety commission, establish statewide safety standards for school buildings, require school-based law enforcement training, mandate reporting between schools and police, grade school performance, and provide funds for upgrades. See H.B. 5828; H.B. 5829; H.B. 5830; H.B. 5850; H.B. 5851; H.B. 5852

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Safety Law News for May 8, 2018

by Bernie James • May 8, 2018

In New York, the mayor and the police chief of the City of Syracuse say sworn school resource officers will stay in Syracuse schools. The announcement came in response to a request from the city’s police union to remove the officers due to concerns for officer safety created school discipline policies.

In Georgia, the Laurens County School Board approved arming teachers. Laurens is a rural county spread over 807 square miles. It shares the cost of rotating Laurens County deputies among schools, but it can take more than 30 minutes to get from one school to the other.

In Florida, the Manatee County Commission voted not to provide more funding to pay for school resource officers. Throughout the state, many districts are scrambling to find funding to meet the new state requirement for school safety. School leaders say the state did not provide enough new funding to cover the costs.

In New Mexico, teachers at Capital High School and Santa Fe High School want metal detectors installed at campus entrances. This campus security concern was included in a presentation made to the school board.

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Safety Law News for May 4, 2018

by Bernie James • May 4, 2018

In Vermont, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the actions of a high school student, who was charged with plotting to shoot up the high school, did not meet the legal definition of an “attempt” under Vermont law. The student was charged with attempted bodily injury, attempted first-degree murder, and attempted aggravated murder. The court reasoned that preparation alone does not satisfy the high bar required to prove an attempt. The student purchased a shotgun, sent Facebook messages that he planned to commit a shooting, and kept lists of the items that he needed. [State v. Sawyer]

In New Mexico, the superintendent for the Santa Fe Public Schools has been told by the Santa Fe Police Department that it is spread thin and does not have the manpower to assign three police officers to the school district.

In Wisconsin, state officials says schools have until June 8 to apply for $100 million in school safety grants. The grants were approved by legislators after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. To be eligible for funding, schools must develop a plan with local law enforcement and earmark the funds for facility upgrades or staff training.

In Florida, the Suwannee County School Board unanimously passed a resolution that allows volunteer school staff members to carry guns on campus. The program will be implemented for the 2018-2019 academic year.

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Safety Law News for May 1, 2018

by Bernie James • May 1, 2018

In Florida, officials in Polk County plan to hire 90 armed “School Safety Guardians” to work in the Polk County Schools. The safety guardian is not a law enforcement job and pays $30,000 a year plus benefits. Officials selected this option because they could not afford to hire more sworn School Resource Officers. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office will handle the tactical training for the guardians.

In Illinois, the Illinois House passed legislation that would create a grant program for schools that employ social workers and psychologists. HB 4208 would establish the Safe Schools Healthy Learning Environment grant to “promote school safety and healthy learning environments by reducing the reliance on law enforcement to address school disciplinary matters and implementing alternative strategies.” The bill now goes to the Illinois Senate.

In Tennessee, the Tennessee House and Senate have passed House Bill 2129 and Senate Bill 2059. The legislation would allow schools in the state to hire off-duty police officers to work school security. Amendment 2 to the legislation would enact the “School Safety Act of 2018”, which will authorize, but not require, LEAs to adopt policies that allow off-duty law enforcement officers to serve as armed school security officers. The bill now goes to Governor Bill Haslam to be signed into law.

In Florida, Venice High School in Sarasota County is planning to create an on-campus police substation. The substation will be open 24-7 for area officers to have access to a computer, conduct on-line training, write reports, interact with school staff, school resource officers, and students.