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Safety Law News for May 15, 2025

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— In New York, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, refused to dismiss a case brought against educators when a former student was allegedly sexually abused by teacher while attending an elementary school some years ago.  The case involves the issue of whether the school could be held liable under theories of negligent retention and negligent supervision of the teacher.  The court applied two rules germane to resolving the dispute.  First, a school “owes a duty to adequately supervise the students in its care, and school may be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.”  Second, the standard for determining whether a school has breached its duty to adequately supervise the students in its care is “to compare the school’s supervision and protection to that of a parent of ordinary prudence placed in the same situation and armed with the same information.”  Dismissal was inappropriate because evidence failed to “demonstrate that either the teacher or the (student) received adequate supervision, particularly in light of the fact that the classroom was devoted to special needs students and was physically separated from the main school building.”  Essential to this outcome is  a shift in immunity law by New York policy makers.  The New York Child Victims Act, CPLR 214-g, allows survivors of child sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits, even if the statute of limitations for those claims had previously expired.  Because of this the New York Child Victims Act enables victims to seek justice against their abusers and those who may have been negligent or complicit in the abuse. L. S. v. Roosevelt Union Free School District

— In Texas, the legislature is considering a shift in school discipline rules.  House Bill 6 will give schools more flexibility in handling disruptive behavior. “The bill would allow administrators to suspend students for ‘repeated and significant’ classroom disruptions or for actions that endanger the safety of others, requiring those students to remain out of school during the suspension period.”

— In Pennsylvania, the legislature is considering Senate Bill 246 which requires that parents and school staff are promptly notified when a weapon is discovered on school grounds or during school activities.

— In West Virginia, enacted House Bill 2802 that encourages law-enforcement officers to spend time in public schools to meet training hours requirements. “The bill states that as part of the 16 hours of annual training officers have to go through to be able to do their jobs more efficiently, law enforcement officers can get some of those requirements taken care of by spending time in the schools doing work that insures school safety so it is treated as part of their regular training hours.”

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Safety Law News for May 14, 2025

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— In Michigan, the United States District Court upheld the validity of the use of force by a school resource officer in response to a violent outburst in class by an eighteen-year-old special needs student.  The student filed suit claiming excessive force, false arrest, and failure to properly train or supervise the officer.  The actions of the officer were in response to ongoing displays of aggression by the student, who on prior  caused educators to remove the other students from the classroom for their safety before calling for assistance.  The lawsuit arose out of another call for assistance after removal of the other students.

— The SRO did not use force until after student assaulted a teacher and a paraprofessional, threw objects, “attacked three people and committed (a) violent felony of resisting and obstructing (the) police officer, and, despite (the SRO’s) verbal commands, warnings, and de-escalation …continued to resist and harm (the SRO).  The court applied the rule of law that “to determine whether an officer’s force was excessive, courts ask whether the force used was objectively reasonable… courts must consider the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, understanding that “officers are often forced to make split-second judgments—in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving—about the amount of force that is necessary… Three factors guide this analysis: (1) the severity of the crime at issue, (2) the risk, if any, the suspect posed to the safety of the officer or others, and (3) the suspect’s active resistance or evasion, if any.”  In this light, the actions of the officer were upheld because “all three factors establish that (the SRO’s) force to subdue (the student) was reasonable.”  Ennes v. Presque Isle County

— In North Carolina, the Wake County Public School System is deploying three mobile command vehicles to “improve efficiency and communication during school crises.”  The command centers “can coordinate emergency response(s) from the field using communications tools, having uniform response(s) and supporting student reunification with family members, if needed.”

— In Alabama, the Department of Homeland Security is developing an Internet-based program that will aid responders in the event of a school crisis.  Schools that join the program will provide data that will “allow first responders and administrators at each agency online access to detailed, 3-D images and layered information including emergency safety plans, the locations of hazardous materials, evacuation routes, places designated as safety zones in the event of disasters, and, in some cases, live video surveillance feeds.”

— In California, The Yolo County Grand Jury “recommended that the Davis Joint Unified School District install better cameras in open areas with instant alerts for intruders during school hours, prioritize teachers to limit traffic, keep classroom doors locked whenever possible, and begin the fencing project.”

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Safety Law News for April 1, 2025

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— In Alabama, the United States District Court dismissed a case brought by a parent who accused school officials of being deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment and assault which their child was experiencing at school.  The case arose out of a complaint that during the school year the assailant “repeatedly” sexually assaulted their child, including “on a school bus.”  The parent was nonplussed that school officials decided that “homebound services sufficiently disciplined (the assailant) for his actions, protected other students, and deterred future harm.”  The parent alleged that school officials were violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.  The trial court disagreed, setting forth the rules, holding that “Title IX funding recipients do not have to ‘remedy’ peer harassment. A Title IX 12 recipient must respond to known peer harassment in a manner that is not clearly unreasonable … a school district (is) not deliberately indifferent to reports of sexual harassment when its officials timely responded to complaints and perform an internal investigation by interviewing the involved parties despite those efforts ultimately being ineffective at remedying the harassment… an official decision by (school officials) not to remedy the violation amounts to deliberate indifference.”  The case was dismissed because, “the evidence … does not present a genuine issue of material fact as to (school official’s) handling of (the) assault …  There is no evidence that school administrators had knowledge of (the assailant’s) conduct before (the reports of the behavior) … When they learned of the assault, school administrators immediately investigated, followed established disciplinary procedures, and disciplined (the assailant).”   Mary Doe v. City of Madison Board of Education

— In Georgia, the legislature is proposing a school safety policy that will require schools “to implement plans for assessing students’ behavior for the risk of threats or violence, but it no longer directs those schools to work with so-called threat management teams.  House Bill 268 also will require “schools to draft detailed maps of their facilities to help first responders navigate buildings in an emergency; share disciplinary records of transfer students within five days; and hire behavioral specialists tasked with coordinating intervention and treatment methods for students with mental health issues.”

— In Colorado, officials in the Denver Public Schools are delaying the plan to install an upgrade to increase security “after a student shot two administrators at Denver’s East High School”  in 2023.”  The plan, to install “a secure vestibule just inside” the school entrance triggered disagreement by some in the community.  School officials will wait “to allow for valuable time to better engage (the) community.”

— In Virginia, the Charlottesville City School Board is returning police officers to its schools.  Removed five years ago, the shift comes as a result of the belief that “(o)ne challenge school administrators have observed over the years is that without police in schools, educators are often forced to manage responsibilities typically handled by law enforcement … Schools end up relying on whichever officer is available that day, instead of having officers they’ve built relationships with.”

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Safety Law News for March 28, 2025

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— In Illinois, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed the conviction of a parent for criminal trespass for “profanity towards staff and threats towards staff that violated school board policy.”  The superintendent informed the parent – by mail, by email, and by hand-delivery – that “because of her repeated violations of school board policy, she was required to provide 48 hours’ notice to the school building principal or district administrator of her intent to enter school grounds and to receive permission from the principal or administrator before entering, unless she was dropping off or picking up her children.”  The parent was arrested after attempting to attend a school event without the required 48 hours’ notice.  The parent argued that “the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she received notice that she was not to enter (the school) without permission.”  The appellate court affirmed the conviction of the parent, ruling that knowledge “may be inferred from circumstantial evidence, and such inferences are within the province of the fact-finder.”  The court observed that the parent responded to other informational emails concerning her children and school events such that, “it is reasonable to infer, as the trial court did, that (the parent) … also received (notice) that she was forbidden from entering school grounds without permission.”  “After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we find that a rational fact-finder could conclude (the parent) received, and knew she received, the no-trespass notice.”  People v. Ward

— In Oregon, the legislature is proposing a panic alarm requirement for all schools. (House Bill 3083). The proposal would require school districts across the state to install panic alarm systems to improve emergency response times in schools.

— In Rhode Island, over two hundred educators from the Woonsocket School District told policymakers that they feel unsafe.  “We, the educators of the 11 public schools in the city … want you to see us and hear us … We want to be safe. Woonsocket educators and the School District have a disagreement right now, but our history has been more collaborative in the past. We’ve had an increased number of dangerous situations in the schools, and we’ve reached out to the Woonsocket Education Department to resolve the problem. Our request was met with silence, no email response, and almost no discussion of possible solutions. … This was a solvable dispute.”

— In West Virginia, officials in the Roane County Schools are installing transparent security film to windows at the high school and middle school.  The film will help prevent break-ins and slow down intruders.

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Safety Law News for March 13, 2025

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— In Georgia,  the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed the dismissal of a case involving an injury to a student, disagreeing that school officials were entitled to official immunity.  The victim, “was stabbed multiple times by a classmate at school.”  “(T)he record shows that (the) School Resource officer … notified the administration … that a student … had a knife at school and was making threats to use the knife to injure fellow students.”  The same notification was given the following school day.  “According to the complaint, (school officials) did not investigate this threat either.  On that day, when (the victim) was walking to the gymnasium, (she was attacked and) was stabbed at least 14 times during the attack.”  The school officials argued, successfully in the lower court, that in “the absence of malice or actual intent to injure, which is not alleged here, public officials are immune from damages that result from their performance of discretionary functions.”  The appellate court disagreed, applying the rule that “immunity for discretionary acts does not extend to ministerial acts.”  Moreover, the appellate court ruled that “a report of bullying triggers a ministerial duty” for school officials to implement school policy that provides that “(a)ny report will be appropriately investigated by the administration based on the nature of the complaint and in a timely manner.”  As a result “(while school policy) leaves it to the administration’s discretion what level of investigation would be appropriate given the nature of the complaint and that the investigation must occur in an undefined timely manner … an investigation is required after a report of bullying … thus the Administrators have not demonstrated entitlement to official immunity.”  Wilson v. Anderson.

— Nationally, the Centegix 2024 National Educator Survey Report “found 84% of respondents affirm school safety directly impacts student achievement and 83% feel their students are concerned for their safety while at school. The survey also revealed 56% of educators lose two or more hours of instructional time weekly due to emergency or safety incidents.”

— In Florida, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission “may see some legislative clarification of … school safety laws that public safety officers have had trouble interpreting. … HB 1473, requires classrooms and the perimeter of a campus to be locked while students are present. HB 1403 … would allow for doors to be unlocked if they are actively being watched.”

— In New York, “(t)he number of (New York City) school safety agents — unarmed but uniformed New York Police Department employees stationed at schools — has plunged from about 5,000 to 3,600 over the past five years, a roughly 28% drop.”  School officials as well as parents are concerned with the increased risk of harm to students from routine and foreseeable incidents each school day.  “(M)ore than 120 school administrators and staffers who signed an open letter to NYPD and Education Department officials in November (are) calling on the city to hire additional agents.”

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Safety Law News for February 28, 2025

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— In New York, the New York Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents who claimed that educators  “failed to prevent sexual abuse perpetrated by a teacher.”  The teacher in question, “was on ‘probationary’ status” during which “between 50 and 100 (incidents of alleged abuse occurred) over the course of two school years, inter alia, in a classroom and the school parking lot during school hours.”  The lower court dismissed the lawsuit, agreeing with the school that “the School District did not have actual or constructive notice of the teacher’s alleged propensity to engage in sexual abuse.”  The appellate court reversed, holding that “(a)lthough an employer cannot be held vicariously liable for torts committed by an employee who is acting solely for personal motives unrelated to the furtherance of the employer’s business, the employer may still be held liable under theories of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of the employee.”  Here, “the teacher’s personnel file contains only a single evaluation from the school during the relevant period, and multiple former students testified at their respective depositions that the teacher’s inappropriate relationship with the plaintiff was readily apparent.”  Therefore, the school officials “failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether (they) took appropriate measures to evaluate the teacher’s employment and fitness at the time she was hired.”  Brauner v. Locust Valley Central School District

— In Minnesota, the legislature is proposing a more rigorous school safety policy on public schools.  SF 1318 “would require every school district to have school safety initiatives in their 10-year building maintenance plans. It would also make new funding available for districts to install things like bullet-resistant doors and windows as well as remote lockdown activation systems to streamline communication with law enforcement.”

— In Alabama, the legislature is proposing a change in policy on campus safety at private schools.  Senate Bill 4 authorizes private schools to contract with a police department or sheriff’s office for a school resource officer.  “The bill has passed the House and Senate. It now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for her review and signature.”

— In Arizona, House Bill 2074 proposes to eliminate the shortage of available police officers to serve as school resource officers.  It would “qualify retired police officers to be stationed at K-12 schools.”