• In Wisconsin, school-based law enforcement officers are being trained to take immediate action to neutralize acts of school violence. “Running toward the disturbance,” is the dominant theme of appropriate training nationwide. This is what occurred in a recent incident…
Author: Bernie James
Safety Law News for November 26, 2019
• In Illinois, the Urbana City Council approved a resolution to increase the presence of school resource officers. Previously, the school board approved new safety measures with the city to have a full-time officer at the middle school and high…
Safety Law News for November 22, 2019
• In Illinois, local school districts and the Illinois Association of School Boards are revisiting the proposal to allow schools to arm teachers and staff at schools. Educators are having a change of heart on the issue in sympathy with…
Safety Law News for November 19, 2019
• In Texas, educators in McLennan County are installing devices that detect when students are vaping on campus. The devices, called Halo Smart Sensors, are in restrooms and other common areas. If the sensors go off, a notification is sent…
Safety Law News for November 14, 2019
• In Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a free speech suit filed by a cheerleader who was removed from her cheerleading squad due to her off-campus social media activity. The cheerleading…
Safety Law News for November 8, 2019
• In Colorado, the Durango School District 9-R board has decided not to arm school security guards with firearms after months of heated community debate. The district’s announcement followed a survey. The survey showed the community supporting arming school security…
Safety Law News for November 5, 2019
• In Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the search of a student’s backpack by school officials. A firearm was found in his backpack during a routine search where all students are required to walk through a metal detector…
Safety Law News for November 1, 2019
• In Kentucky, the Jefferson County Board of Education will vote soon on a proposal that would eliminate the school resource officer program, replacing it with an in-house security team consisting of 48 officers. The new officers would report directly…
Safety Law News for October 29, 2019
• In South Carolina, the U.S. District Court ruled that a school resource officer used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of a student. The officer, called to a classroom when a student refused administrative requests to…
Safety Law News for October 24, 2019
• In California, the California Court of Appeal ruled that a student was properly adjudicated for making a criminal threat when he used a black “sharpie” marker to write the following statement on the wall of a bathroom stall: “Don’t…