A Connecticut school district is weighing whether to have drug dogs sniff individual students. Most districts only permit canine searches of objects, a policy that the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education endorses. Massachusetts educators adopted—and then quickly abandoned—voluntary student…
Author: Bernie James
Safety Law News for 7/2/12
Education Week reports: a diverse coalition including the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association has endorsed policy guidelines on bullying and free expression. Some students in Lynwood, California will soon be visiting the district’s Alternative…
Safety Law News for 6/28/12
After an assault on an elementary school bus, the Massachusetts superintendent announced that students involved were disciplined—and that students on this bus must now adhere to a seating chart. A Florida student claims that educators disciplined her for reporting the…
Safety Law News for 6/26/12
The Illinois Senate approved legislation that would permit police to share juvenile information with educators, when students are violent outside of school and are believed to pose an immediate threat to others. As Tampa educators and SROs win student trust,…
Safety Law News for 6/22/12
A federal judge held that a Georgia school was not responsible for a student’s suicide when he hanged himself. The court found that, even though educators could have done more to prevent bullying against the student, they did respond to…
School Safety Law News for 6/18/12
A high school freshman in New York was suspended for her anti-bullying class projects: a YouTube video and a Facebook page featuring a fictitious bullying victim, who commits suicide. Educators allegedly said that the student’s actions could lead to jail…
Safety Law News 6/12/12
After an eight-year-old special needs student was handcuffed, Las Vegas educators are moving to amend a policy that permits campus police to handcuff students. The student has repeatedly tried to injure people around him. Wyoming students have a new motivation…
Safety Law News for 6/8/12
Indianapolis Public Schools expelled a student who brought a stun gun to school. His mother gave him the stun gun to protect himself against bullies — and the community is vocally protesting his expulsion. A New Jersey principal wants parents…
Safety Law News for 6/6/12
Two Florida youth used a stolen two-way radio to report a high school shooting — causing police to comb the school for the alleged shooter. The teenagers have been arrested for making a false report. An Iowa middle school student…
Safety Law News for 6/4/12
The Atlantic asks: Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom? A new FCC condition on federal technology funds — combined with a new anti-cyberbullying law in Ohio — mean that educators face new imperatives in teaching students about social media…