Safety Law News for February 20, 2018 – School Safety Law Blog

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 primary language was Spanish, (2) he had just turned 16 when the interrogation occurred, (3) he was a poor student repeating the ninth grade, (4) he had no previous contact with the police, and (5) school officials did nothing to ensure that suspect’s parents were aware of the situation. [State v. Pablo]

In New Mexico, the United States District Court ruled that a student had a valid claim under Title IX for retaliation when school officials refused to intervene to stop harassment from other students, obstructed the police investigation, and told her parents that a school transfer would not go through until the family signed documents releasing the school from all civil claims. [Higgins v. Saavedra].

In California, the United States District Court ruled that a school district bears a legal duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising students and may be held liable for injuries caused by the failure to exercise such care. The court refused to dismiss a claim by a student that the school’s inadequate supervision allowed a known bully to harass and inappropriately touch him. [Wormuth v. Lammersville Union School District].

In New York, a New York State senator is calling for the upcoming state budget to fund school resources officers in all New York schools. Under the proposed plan, the state would incentivize school districts to hire the officers and move to convert existing part-time positions into full-time positions.