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Safety Law News for August 29, 2023

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit against a municipality and an SRO for violating the Fourth Amendment rights of a student.  The student was injured when the SRO deployed a taser to prevent the student, who broke away from the SRO, from running away from a fight in the school cafeteria.  The court’s refusal to dismiss the case was due solely to the failure of the municipality “to provide guidance to officers on the use of force, and specifically the use of tasers, against minors in the school setting.”  Under the appropriate legal standard, “the lack of guidance on the use of tasers on minors in the school setting amounts to deliberate indifference.”  The court agreed with the student that, “the interactions between SROs with minors in schools is vastly different than everyday encounters between police officers and adult citizens. Thus, … the need for a policy or guidance specifically tailored to the use of force against minors in schools, particularly when SROs are equipped with tasers, was so obvious that the failure to enact one amounted to deliberate indifference and resulted in harm to (the student).”  Brown v. Lower Swatara Township

— In Maryland, the Baltimore City Schools have upgraded its resources and budget for school safety.  It has invested in a high-level weapons detection system.  All city schools will be equipped with exterior locking systems.  A new weapons detection system will alert officials if any firearms are on campus.  And salaries of school resource officers in city schools have also been increased.

— In Texas, the legislature has enacted three new polices for K-12 campus safety.  House Bill 114 requires districts to remove students from class and place them in an alternative school if they possess or use an e-cigarette (vapes), or if they sell or deliver vapes to someone else.  If the alternative schools are at capacity, HB 114 allows schools to suspend students. “It applies on school campuses, within 300 feet of school property or at school-sponsored or activities on or off school property.”  House Bill 3 mandates that districts must have a district peace officer, school resource officer or commissioned peace officer at every school during school hours and establishes other safety protocols and requirements.  Districts can claim an exception to the law if they do not have enough funding or qualified police officers to comply, but the school board must create an alternative plan, such as having school marshals or qualified employees serve as police officers.  Senate Bill 763 allows school boards to authorize the district to use part of their annual school safety allotment to hire chaplains to work at their campuses.  Chaplains can serve as mental health personnel, provide behavioral health services or assist with programs related to suicide prevention and intervention.

— In Colorado, at least 14 school resource officers will be at campuses for the Denver Public School District, one of the most significant changes since the gun-related incidents the previous academic year.  The policy is not new; it is a return to school district policy prior to 2020.  In 2020 school officials removed the officers.

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Safety Law News for August 25, 2023

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— In Massachusetts, the United States District Court held that a principal, vice principal, and security officer were entitled to qualified immunity from liability from a student’s claims asserting the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause.  The parents argued that the decision by the school officials to treat an incident on a school bus involving sexual contact between their child with an older student as a disciplinary infraction was unlawful because it was made “despite knowing that (their child) was too young to consent to sexual activity, … without consulting school counseling staff, and before any employee had even talked to (their child).”  The parents argued that the school “should have treated (their child) as a potential victim of sexual assault, rather than as a student suspected of a disciplinary violation.”  The court did agree to dismiss the defamation claim involving the student’s education record, holding that the school administrator was “acting within the scope of his official duties” when documenting the discipline in the educational record of the student and could not be liable for defamatory statements “with respect to the notation(s) … or its disclosure to (the student’s) next school.”  Along the same reasoning, the court ruled that qualified immunity was appropriate.  No “cases or statutes (were) sufficiently clear to put a reasonable educator on notice that the actions taken by (the school officials) violated one or more of (the student’s) protected rights…in making decisions about how to investigate the bus incident and how to respond to her involvement.”  Doe I v. City of Northampton

— In Minnesota, the Moorhead Police Department is pausing its school resource officer program.  The reason given surrounds concerns over recent changes in state law on the physical restraint of students.  The new law, “bars school-based resource officers from placing students in certain physical holds, including the prone restraint and “comprehensive restraint on the head, neck, and across most of the torso.”  Moorhead police believe the new constraints “will impact their ability to do their jobs.”  Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a legal opinion earlier this week clarifying his interpretation of the recent amendments to statewide school discipline laws, saying the amendments don’t limit the types of force used if they are utilized to prevent bodily harm or death.

— In Wisconsin, the Green Lake School Board is amending its agreement with the city of Green Lake for a school resource officer.  Two issues are pending.  The first issue involves supervision of the officer.  The proposal states that “(w)hile the officer was on duty as an SRO, they would be under the control of the school administration, but would still answer to the police chief during their other hours of duty.”  The second issue involves parental notification.  Under current policy the school “tries to contact parents” when a student is being interviewed by the SRO as a part of an investigation at the school.  But administrators say that “it is not always practical to do so.”

— In Minnesota, officials in the Owatonna Public Schools are making known their security upgrades for upcoming school year.  “Every school in the district now has a single secure entrance. Many of the buildings’ external doors are wired to alert someone at in the district if they are propped open. School offices are now equipped with lock-in buttons to prevent someone from entering the rest of the building if they pose a threat. The new building is also equipped with over 140 security cameras and an AI tracking system to help staff spot an intruder.”

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Safety Law News for August 21, 2013

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— In New York, the Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a case brought by parents of a student upon whom a teacher fell and injured.  The injury occurred when the teacher “started sending the children back to their seats, and as she went to hand out papers, she lost her footing and tripped over one of their feet.”  The court stated that the rule of law is clearly established, that, “(t)he duty of care owed by a school to a student derives from the simple fact that a school, in assuming physical custody and control over its students, effectively takes the place of parents and guardians.”  The court ruled that it is a “duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.”  However, the rule of law makes an important exception for injuries that occur in incidents that happen “in so short a span of time that even the most intense supervision could not have prevented it.”  Therefore, the court affirmed the lower court ruling that, “lack of supervision is not a proximate cause of the injury in this case.”  K.L. v. City of New York

— In Colorado, the Denver Police Department hosted a round-table with School Resource Officers to discuss the return of SROs in schools in this fall.  The officers “have recently completed the 40-hour National Association School Resource Officers Basic training, which fulfills Colorado POST training requirements. Moreover, they have received other training that is beneficial for their work in schools, including de-escalation techniques, effective communication with youth, conflict resolution, crisis intervention, and a well-defined decision-making model.”

— In Indiana, the Northeast Sullivan Schools have created their own in-house police department.  The Superintendent says that, “(w)e decided to establish our own department so we did not have to contract with a separate company. This gives us control on who we hire and have the same people each day.”  Other school districts (more than 40) are also creating in-house police departments in the state.

— In Tennessee, House Bill 7023 proposes a new state-wide policy that would allow law enforcement to deploy an SRO even if the school district does not want them.  The bill stipulates “if a local board of education has not entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a law enforcement agency to assign a school resource officer at each school within the local board of education’s control, then a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction may assign at least one (1) law enforcement officer to serve as a school resource officer at the school.”  HB7023 is part of a special legislative session on public safety.

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Safety Law News for August 14, 2023

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— In Kentucky, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that a trial court erred in granting a directed verdict in favor of a school teacher who chained a student to a tree to keep him from skipping class.  Specifically, the student’s case was remanded for a new trial on the issue of damages including punitive damages.  The student’s lawsuit was based on claims of false imprisonment and assault and battery.  Factually, “(b)y his own admission, (the student) had either skipped the class or left the class early on a number of occasions during that semester.”  One day, “when (the teacher) walked into the classroom, he had a large log chain over his shoulder and had several key locks on his belt loop. (The teacher) then told (the student) that he was going to keep him from leaving the class early…(The teacher) secured the chain around (the student’s) ankle, and led him outside to an area where…(the teacher) then put the chain around a tree, locked it, and told (the student) not to go anywhere.”  The legal standard announced by the appellate court was that, “false imprisonment (is) any deprivation of the liberty of one person by another or detention for however short a time without such person’s consent and against his will, whether done by actual violence, threats or otherwise. Furthermore, false imprisonment requires that the restraint be wrongful, improper, or without a claim of reasonable justification, authority or privilege.”  The lower court ruled that there was enough evidence to establish that a false imprisonment and an assault and battery occurred. However, the lower court concluded that there was no evidence that the student had been damaged by the teacher’s conduct.  The appellate court reversed, ruling that “was sufficient evidence of emotional damages to warrant submitting the issue to the jury,” and that “(n)either false imprisonment and assault and battery requires proof of damages.”  Banks v. Fritsch.

— In Texas, the Plano Independent School District (ISD) will begin the process of implementing a school safety program ensuring an armed safety guard is present on every school campus.  The policy was announced in response to House Bill 3, which requires public school boards to make sure at least one, armed, security officer is present on every district campus during school hours.  The school Marshall must be licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, pass a psychological exam, and complete 80 hours of initial training and 16 hours of refresher training every two years.

— In Kentucky, Kentucky school districts continue making progress toward the policy goal of deploying law enforcement officers to all schools. An upcoming Report from the Kentucky School Security Marshal’s Office finds 685 school resource officers deployed Kentucky public schools, a 33% increase from 2022 and the most in state history.

— In Louisiana, the Iberville Parish Sheriff hopes that the deployment of school resource officers on every campus will eliminate truancy as well as provide campus safety.

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Safety Law News for August 11, 2023

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— In Ohio, the United States District Court held that “First Amendment protection does not extend to complaints made in the context of a sports program when the complaints are related to coaching decisions, coaching methods, coaching style, or playing time, when the speech could reasonably be forecasted to cause a substantial disruption or material interference with that program.”  The case arose when “(t)he parent complained to (the coach) via private text messages about the amount of playing time (the student) was receiving. His text messages also accused (the coach) of bullying (the student).   The parent also apparently sent text messages to (the coach) threatening to sue her.”  The parent filed a lawsuit claiming First Amendment retaliation against the school officials and the coach.  The court, applying the framework of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, held that, “speech that could undermine a coach’s authority or sow disunity on the team causes a substantial disruption or material interference.”  The court reasoned that, in deference to school officials, it was “reasonable in forecasting that a student-athlete’s alleged right to participate (in a school sponsored sport) on his own—or his father’s—terms…would create a substantial or material disruption to team unity or would undermine the coach’s authority.”  “(D)isappointment and frustration with a coach’s conduct do not, without more, entitle a player to legal relief.”  Place v. Warren Local School District Board of Education

— In Arizona, “(f)unding exists for school resource officers through the Arizona Department of Education’s School Safety Grant, but some schools have yet to find an officer to fill the position.

State officials point to a lack of law enforcement officers across the board which they say trickles down to specialty assignments like SROs to create safety gaps in schools.

— In Florida, officials in the Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County school districts say every school resource officer is now equipped with Narcan to be used in an emergency to treat a suspected overdose by a student.

— In North Carolina, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners “cleared the way for the staffing of school resource officers at every school in the district…(including) all 13 elementary schools in the county.”  “The commissioners approved a request from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to fund (the) positions.”

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Safety Law News for August 7, 2023

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— In Ohio, the United States District Court ruled that parents were not entitled to a preliminary injunction prohibiting a school from enforcing its policy against discriminatory harassment or bullying based on the personal characteristics of other students.  The parents sued to relieve their children of the burden of being “forced to use the pronouns that a transgender child identifies with or be subject to reprimand.”  The court looked back to the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, holding that, “public schools are permitted to proscribe student speech that “materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others.””  The court also, noted that “school policies intended to reduce the pervasive harassment of transgender students…advance public schools’ mission of ensuring that all students have an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment most conducive to speculation, experiment and creation.”  Finally, the court said, the parents, “cannot establish (a right to file a lawsuit) because (their children) have not suffered an injury in fact, because none of the students (have) been disciplined for violating any of the Policies.”  Parents Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District

— In Tennessee, public and private schools in the state “have a new mandate: Keep exterior school doors locked or secured with an employee gatekeeper, even for after-school events when students are present.  The law, part of an overall $230 million school safety and security program that went into effect July 1… also includes grant funding for every school to have a school resource officer.”

— In Missouri, many school districts are being trained on the software Raptor Alert, which will allow school staff to silently trigger alarms and communicate with emergency responders.  State funding is available for school districts to sign up for the mobile application.

— In Ohio, two Warren County private schools plan to pay full cost to deploy a resource officer to their campuses.  The Lebanon Christian Schools of Lebanon is contracting with the City of Lebanon and the St. Margaret of York Catholic School is contracting with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.  The officers would not be school employees, and the police department and sheriff’s office would be responsible for the conduct and performance of the officers.