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Safety Law News for 5/28/13

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• School administrators in Henderson County, Kentucky reflects on the success of the Safe Schools Initiative at Henderson County Schools started in the mid-1990s. Since that time, educators have embraced working with law enforcement officials for preventive measures rather than waiting for something to happen and reacting to the threat.

•  A new Kansas law gives school districts permission to decide whether to allow employees to conceal and carry weapons on campus.

• The Tennessee governor Bill Haslam signed into law a new safe school policy that allows schools to approve teachers who have law enforcement backgrounds and have undergone specialized training, to go armed. The new state law also allows schools to hire retired police officers and others with specialized law enforcement to provide an armed presence in schools.

• In a new partnership between the Kearney, Missouri School District and the Kearney Police Department is designed to create a safer school environment for students and staff.  Under the new School Visitation Program, campuses will begin to see a more regular police presence through visits from on-duty officers as they complete their daily patrols.

• Montgomery County, Maryland lawmakers say that they will not give the public schools more resource police officers until school officials create a concrete plan on how they would be used.

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Safety Law News for 5/22/13

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  • The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved legislation that would fund a statewide school safety program.  The bill allocates 60 percent of grant money to help schools train and pay for school resource officers and 40 percent for emergency planning and violence prevention programs.
  • The Tennessee Senate approved House Bill 6, a measure that lets teachers who have worked as police officers in the past carry their guns with them at school. The information about which teachers are carrying is confidential.
  • The Protection of Texas Children Act (House Bill 1009),  proposes a “school marshal” program  which arms school administrators after 80 hours of required training.
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Safety Law News for 5/20/13

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• The Indiana legislature has changed its mind on a provision of Senate Bill 1 that would require schools to have an armed protection officer in the building during school hours.  The new language gives schools an annual opportunity to opt out of the requirement.

• The Gloucester County, Virginia Board of Supervisors reject a proposal to place school resource officers in their elementary schools.

• The Oklahoma legislature rejects House Bill 1062 that would have allowed public school teachers or administrators who successfully complete a special school resource officer course to bring loaded handguns to school.

• Alabama Governor Robert Bentley vetoed a bill that would authorize  volunteer security forces at schools. However, support grows for legislation that would allow local school systems statewide to hire armed guards.

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Safety Law News for 5/16/13

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•  The Miami Tribe of Miami, Oklahoma has generously donated funding of $50,000 for a School Resource Officer’s (SRO) salary to help patrol the nine public schools in the school district.

• The Indiana legislature amends its safe school proposal to remove the provisions that require a staff person in every school to carry a gun.

•  Knox County, Tennessee School Board approves budget that adds 58 additional school resource officers at each school and $3.9 million to implement a number of security enhancements, including the addition of video cameras, camera/buzzer systems, secure vestibules and keyless entry cards at every school.

•  A Windber, Pennsylvania research survey reveals that professionals and parents believe that schools are not doing enough to prevent violence.

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Safety Law News for 5/1/13

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  • Ridgefield, Connecticut school board considers funding initiatives to improve campus security.  One school board member recalls 1983 school shooting when she was a student.
  • Emergency management experts say most schools are ill-prepared for an active shooter scenario and should examine their emergency plans and how they would respond, not only during a shooting but also during various foreseeable hazards.
  • Florida legislation SB 1374 is being called the anti-“school to prison pipeline” policy.  The proposal will link state funding given to schools for campus safety to the number of students arrested at each school.
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Safety Law News for 4/24/13

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• Farmington, New Mexico community debates policy on when parents have the right to know details of incidents that place students at risk.

• The Board of Supervisors for Plainfield Township, Pennsylvania have implemented a controversial policy calling for all Plainfield Township police officers to visit area school  only during bus arrival and departure, as well as emergency calls.

• ALICE training (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), is being implemented in the Cape Girardeau, Missouri School District in order to proactively address crisis incidents.

• A national coalition of educators and law enforcement organizations issue a joint recommendation for improving school safety and access to mental health services for students.  The recommendations are contained in a document called; “A Framework for Safe and Successful Schools.