School Safety Law Blog – Page 109 – News and Information for School Safety

Safety Law News for 8/26/14

by Bernie James • August 26, 2014

In North Carolina, two Charlotte Mecklenburg schools that had School Resource Officers (SRO’s) last year will not have them this year. Those officers will be transferred to schools that are more troubled.

School resource officers in Henry County, Tennessee appear to be providing more counseling to students instead of arrests.

The Santa Cruz, Arizona County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved funding for 3.5 school resource officer positions at local schools.

In Oklahoma, the Nicoma Park Schools get their first school resource officer after the school district and police department agreed to share the costs for the new position.

Safety Law News for 8/22/14

by Bernie James • August 22, 2014

The percentage of American parents who fear for their child’s physical safety in school is at 27% according to a new Gallup Poll on school safety.

In Hillsborough County, Florida, the school district has implemented a new school security plan. Under the plan, school officials are placing 20 new community service officers in the elementary schools. The officers work for the district and oversee four to six schools each. The officers do not have arrest powers like school resource officers.

The commitment to providing school safety is at issue in Sarasota County, Florida. The school board is debating how to increase school safety after canceling its school resource officer program for budget reasons.

The Cattaraugus, New York Village Board voted at its last meeting to abolish its police department, with the intention of dedicating those funds to providing a student resource officer (SRO) in Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School.

Safety Law News for 8/18/14

by Bernie James • August 18, 2014

A staffing shortage of 18 officers at the Fargo, North Dakota Police Department means school resource officers are going to be pulled out of schools and placed back into squad cars. The Police Department and Fargo Public Schools are collaborating on the issue to find a feasible solution.

In California, the school board for the Compton Unified School District has implemented a policy that allows campus police who pass an internal selection process to buy AR-15 rifles and carry them in their patrol car trunks while on duty.

The City of Meriden, Connecticut will eliminate its long-running Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for fifth-graders and replace it with a police officer for elementary schools.

The City of Norman, Oklahoma and Norman Public Schools are implementing a school resource officer program. There will be 13 officers. Two will be at each high school, one will be at each middle school and five will rotate between elementary schools.

Safety Law News for 8/14/14

by Bernie James • August 14, 2014

Students in Jackson County, Alabama return to classes without a School Resource Officer Program. Officials are working hard to bring deputies back to the schools after grant funds dried up and the money ran out.

The Santa Maria, California Police Department is adding three school resource officers to elementary and high schools in the city. Budget cuts caused those positions to be eliminated in years past, but now the officers are back full-time.

The Manatee County, Florida school district says safety is a top priority for the community. It has approved nearly $2 million to go toward hiring armed security guards at every elementary school.

In New Jersey, the Washington Township Board of Education has set student safety as a priority, and now it intends to add two school resource officers to work in the middle and elementary schools. Currently, only the high school has a full-time officer who is the only SRO in the district.

Safety Law News for 8/7/14

by Bernie James • August 7, 2014

Huntsville, Alabama police are implementing a “Zero Tolerance” policy for enforcing traffic laws in both public and private school zones, especially at the beginning and ending of the school day.

The State of Florida allocates safe school funds by looking at the county crime rate. Schools in counties with a lowering crime rate are punished with a decrease in safe schools funding. Jackson County officials have been forced to dip into the general revenue fund and safe school funds to cover the additional cost to keep resource officers on school campuses.

Officials in Wareham, Massachusetts have eliminated their school resource officer program as part of an effort to cut expenses from its budget. Despite the preferences of the school superintendent and parents, the program will not come back to the schools this year.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Public Schools and the city of Oklahoma City have agreed to split the $602,100 cost to hire seven police officers for elementary school duty.

Safety Law News for 8/1/14

by Bernie James • August 1, 2014

The Dardanelle, Arkansas Board of Education terminated its school resource officer program with the Dardanelle Police Department in favor of partnering with the Yell County Sheriff’s Office for the upcoming school year. The main reason for the switch was because the city police often had to pull the SRO during the school year. The county has assured the school board that its SRO will stay put.

School Resource Officers in Georgia will soon be trained to implement the CHAMPS program. The CHAMPS program, or Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety, is sponsored by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association and targets fifth-graders. SROs will each be certified after taking the 80-hour CHAMPS certification course.

Federal court rules that a school resource officer did not use excessive force in arresting 18-year-old student who was arguing with his girlfriend, cursing officer, and refusing to obey officer’s commands to go to the school office. [Nichols v. Bourbon County Sheriff’s Department.]

Federal court upholds student suspension and transfer for misconduct on the Internet. A song that the high school student posted on social networking websites, in which he used vulgar and threatening language to levy charges that two coaches had improper contact with female students, was not protected by the First Amendment. [Bell v. Itawamba County School Board].

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