School Safety Law Blog – Page 104 – News and Information for School Safety

Safety Law News for April 6, 2015

by Bernie James • April 6, 2015

In Florida, Miami-Dade school officials hold a press conference to provide details on how campuses are kept safe. This comes after a 15-year-old student was stabbed at Miami Killian Senior High School by a 17-year-old student.

In Texas, the decision by Pearland ISD school officials to intervene in drug use on campus was to request an undercover police officer to enroll in school. The result was the seizure of cocaine, marijuana, Xanax, Tramadol, and the arrest of six students.

Educators and law enforcement officials around the country discuss how social media, apps for devices, and other electronic means of communication are making school threats easier to commit, harder to deter.

In California, the effectiveness of school resource officers is being praised by the Manteca Unified Superintendent. While the primary objective is to keep campuses and students safe, the SROs also assist with truancy concerns, make home visits, and mentor students at school.

by Bernie James • March 31, 2015

In Michigan, Detroit cannot keep its schoolchildren: Each day an estimated 25,000 school-age children go to school outside the city. Safety is one of the reasons parents are pulling their children from Detroit schools.

In Amherst, New York, school officials have installed an upgrade to the district video system. Now local police have access to school video surveillance.

In Florida, the House of Representatives wants to require students to wear uniforms—a move they say could help improve school safety. Legislation was passed by a 102-8 vote to pay school districts that implement the uniform policy.

The Connecticut legislature is considering SB 1108, the “Zero-Tolerance Safe School Environment Act.” Under the proposed law existing penalties for threats made against schools would be increased from misdemeanor to felony in all cases.

by Bernie James • March 19, 2015

A new software program, called Digital Fly, allows educators and SROs to track social media posts around their school. Within a 10-mile radius school officials can track and filter social media. The program automatically sends an email or text to administrators if there is a potential threat to campus safety.

In Plumsted, New Jersey, school officials are implementing The Junior Officers Program to promote respectful living and safe choices by elementary students. The program is a collaborative effort between the Plumsted Township School District and the Plumsted Township Police Department.

In Clay County, Missouri, the Liberty Public School District has installed a unitary school safety system that links the district IT data with the security management software. The new system manages both building access and video surveillance from any location and keeps the district’s employee database current.

In Michigan, Ann Arbor Public Schools officials say they will not allow guns on school property. This is direct conflict with a state law that permits citizens with gun permits to openly carry weapons onto state school campuses.

by Bernie James • March 16, 2015

The Utah Legislature has passed two bills to improve school safety. HB345 would permanently restrict convicted felony sex offenders from obtaining or renewing a teaching license. HB213 requires schools to have Internet filtering on school campuses.

In Georgia, the Richmond County School System has seen 73 weapons cases so far this year. The breakdown: 21 cases from high school, 23 cases from middle school, and 29 cases from elementary students.

In Illinois, the Lake Forest School Board unanimously approved a cellphone app that operates like a panic button, letting them alert police and administrators and track students in case of emergency. The app will also let administrators know which students are in what classrooms and who stayed home sick.

New York City officials have revised school policy on suspensions. The new policy includes adding oversight of principals’ decision to suspend students. However, the city kept its longstanding policy to suspend students for one to five days for “defying or disobeying the lawful authority or directive of school personnel or school safety agents.”

by Bernie James • March 10, 2015

In Richmond, Virginia, officials have declared Martin Luther King Middle School a hostile environment for teachers. Last year the school had 1635 disorderly or disruptive behavior offenses. Lack of order and discipline are said by one volunteer to be the causes. Of the 40 schools in the district, the school was responsible for 32.6% of the offenses.

In Worcester, Massachusetts, teachers at a high school are planning a protest rally regarding safety concerns after a vice principal at the school sustained a neck injury breaking up a fight between four students at the school.

The South Dakota legislature voted against a safe schools proposal that would require South Dakota schools to have a plan for potential violent incidents such as a school shooting.

New York City officials have revised school policy on student cell phones in schools. Students now are allowed to carry cell phones onto campus, but must only use the devices with permission.

by Bernie James • March 5, 2015

In Rowan County, North Carolina, the average rate of crime or violence per 100 students in public schools is the lowest the rate recorded since 2010. School officials are attributing the safe climate to having a school resource officer on campus.

Statewide in Florida, delinquent arrests have been trending down. A report by the Department of Juvenile Justice found that for the past five years there has been a steady decrease in arrests over that time. Broward County saw a 51 percent drop in school arrests.

Statewide in Colorado, since medical marijuana stores opened widely in 2010, drug incidents are the only major category of conduct violations that rose in Colorado school districts. Middle schools had the highest percentage increase in drug violations.

The Connecticut legislature has introduced legislation that will require local and regional boards of education to enter into memorandum of understanding with law enforcement agencies concerning the use of law enforcement personnel as school resource officers in schools. The legislation requires annual data gathering on school suspensions, out of school suspensions and expulsions, and school based arrests by school, race, ethnicity, gender, age, students with disabilities and type of offense.