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Safety Law News for August 4, 2023

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— In California, the United States Court of Appeals held that police did not violate the Fourth Amendment by detaining briefly parents of a student while investigating allegations that their son planned a shooting at his school that day.  The appellate court affirmed the lower court ruling that the Deputies’ acted lawfully, even in the absence of reasonable suspicion, because special circumstances existed that justified a suspicionless seizure of the parents. “We are hard-pressed to imagine a more important, time-sensitive matter than preventing the unspeakable tragedy of a school shooting. Thus, while the government’s interest in detaining non-suspect witnesses begins at a low ebb, the fact that the Deputies were actively attempting to prevent a mass shooting at a school sufficiently increased the government’s interest to warrant a brief detention.”  Bernal v. Sacramento County Sheriffs’ Department

— In Congress, the House of Representatives is proposing a new funding source for school safety.  The Securing American Classrooms Act of 2023 would use some of the $1 billion in unspent COVID relief funds to provide grant funding for partnerships between schools and local law enforcement agencies to increase school safety.

— In Kentucky, schools are struggling to hire mandated school resource officers.  Kentucky schools are required to have their own armed school resource officers.  According to a Report, roughly 55% of schools did not have an SRO. The SRO is state-mandated, but not state-funded.

— In Texas, the Allen Independent School District is hiring armed guards for elementary schools and early childhood centers.  Schools in Texas must put someone armed with a gun on their campus.  In the Allen ISD, there were too few police officers to cover the elementary and early childhood schools.  Grant money from the state will cover about half of the cost.

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Safety Law News for July 28, 2023

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–  In Arkansas, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents of a special needs child who was injured in school.  The visually impaired child was injured at various times while at school or on the playground.  The lawsuit was filed after she started experiencing staring-spell seizures.  The parents alleged discrimination on the basis of her vision disability by failing to provide appropriate safety accommodations in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504(a) of the Rehabilitation Act.  The appellate court ruled that, “Section 504 requires something more than an incorrect evaluation, or a substantively faulty individualized education plan, in order for liability to exist, and it requires more than non-compliance with the IDEA statutory mandate to provide a free appropriate public education.”  The appellate court also ruled that, “(w)here alleged ADA and Section 504 violations are based on educational services for disabled children, the plaintiff must prove that school officials acted in bad faith or with gross misjudgment to recover damages.”     The case was dismissed because, “the (school) made consistent efforts to accommodate (the student’s) vision issues.”  The standard announced by the appellate court is that, “(s)o long as the state officials involved have exercised professional judgment, in such a way as not to depart grossly from accepted standards among educational professionals, we cannot believe that Congress intended to create liability under (the special education laws).”  Baker v. Bentonville School District

— In Oklahoma, school resource officers in the Oklahoma City Public Schools are receiving reality-based training involving scenarios and verbal de-escalation.  The goal is to teach skills in de-escalation, control, and self-protection.

— In Oregon, the Beaverton City Council has voted to keep police officers in schools.  The school district was supportive of renewing the contract with police.  The two-year contract “will be between the city of Beaverton, the district and other agencies, as they will divide the cost for the armed officers.”  The police officers will be called “youth services officers.”

— In Georgia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia partnered with the Georgia Alliance for School Resource Officers and Educators, the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, and the Georgia Gang Investigators Association last week to provide an intensive law enforcement training, “G.R.E.A.T.” (Gang Resistance Education and Training), for more than 40 police officers from school systems in the Northern District of Georgia.

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Safety Law News For July 26, 2023

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— In Ohio, the Ohio Court of Appeals ruled that the totality of the circumstances of a juvenile interrogation about a sexual assault supported a conclusion that juvenile was in police custody and thus Miranda warnings were necessary.  In reversing the lower court, the appellate court held that, “(a) custodial interrogation is questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.” Then the appellate court noted that, (t)o determine whether an individual is in custody for the purposes of Miranda, the court considers “the circumstances surrounding the interrogation” and whether, under those circumstances, “a reasonable person would have felt he or she was not at liberty to terminate the interrogation and leave.”  Finally, the appellate court announced that, “(i)n cases involving a juvenile, the juvenile suspect’s age may be analyzed as part of the court’s determination on whether a custodial interrogation occurred…(because) children often lack the experience, perspective, and judgment to recognize and avoid choices that could be detrimental to them and are more vulnerable or susceptible to outside pressures than an adult would be.” The juvenile was 13 years old, had autism, was not accompanied by his parents, and “nothing in the record indicated juvenile had experience with the criminal justice system.” Matter of O.E.

— In Colorado, the Denver Public Schools filed an appeal to fight a court order requiring the release of the recording of closed-door board meeting about police in schools – only later to agree to release a redacted version.  The District Court judge ordered the district to comply with open meeting laws.  “The meeting, called an executive session, occurred on March 23, one day after an East High School student shot and injured two deans inside the school before fleeing and taking his own life. The school board emerged from the executive session and with no discussion voted unanimously to temporarily suspend its policy banning police in schools.”  The Denver Schools Superintendent is committed to returning police to schools.  On June 15, the board voted again to reinstate SROs — but that time, the debate was public.  One board member posted a clip of the session.   (The Meeting Here)

— In Ohio, the Parma City Schools Board of Education passed a resolution authorizing specific staff members to arm themselves with guns during the school day.  The Superintendent said the overall goal behind arming staff members is to maintain the element of the unknown in case an intruder targets a Parma City Schools building.  The staff members will have to go through extensive training with the Parma police department.

— In Texas, the Austin Independent School District is considering nearly doubling the size of its police department to comply with a new state law that takes effect Sept. 1.  House Bill 3 requires school districts to secure schools with armed officers and to train more staff to identify students who might need mental health support.  Districts can meet the requirement in several ways, such as hiring school police officers or partnering with local law enforcement agencies to assign personnel to campuses.  The Austin ISD Police Department will “have to hire more than 70 SROs.”

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Safety Law News for July 19, 2023

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— In Florida, the District Court of Appeal reversed the refusal of the Circuit Court to issue a Risk Protection Order against a student who was caught on campus with a  Glock 42 .380 caliber handgun, a loaded magazine, and two boxes of Hornady Critical Defense ammunition.  The appellate court ruled that the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, passed by the legislature following the February 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County School District, required the issuance of a risk protection order.  § 790.401(3)(b).  Three factors contained in the statute triggered the mandatory order: 1. A recent act or threat of violence by the respondent against himself or herself or others, whether or not such violence or threat of violence involves a firearm; 2. The unlawful or reckless use, display, or brandishing of a firearm by the respondent; and 3. Whether the respondent, in this state or any other state, has been arrested for, convicted of, had adjudication withheld on, or pled nolo contendere to a crime involving violence or a threat of violence.  The student who had a pending prosecution for Assault with a Deadly Weapon.  Polk County Sheriff’s Office v. T.J.B.

— In New York, the nearly 4,000 unarmed school safety agents (SSAs) working in New York City public schools will start wearing bullet-resistant vests.  The officers will have to wear the vests both inside schools and outside schools during student arrivals and dismissals. “Close to 7,000 weapons were recovered by SSAs during the last school year and the confiscation of firearms reached double-digits. According to police data, 15 firearms were recovered in city public schools. The year prior, 21 firearms were recovered.”

— In Nevada, officials in the Douglas County School District are adding the elementary schools to its Safe School Volunteer Program.  The Safe School Volunteer program is a two-team volunteer patrol system on school campuses.  “The volunteers can act as that extra set of eyes and ears the students might need to feel safe and supported.”  Each team observes activity on the grounds and reports anything suspicious to the site administrator and school resource officer, whom would make the best determination of action to eliminate the threat.

— In Texas, House Bill 3 takes effect in September.  Its provisions require school districts to secure schools with armed officers and to train more staff to identify students who might need mental health support.  The law also grants the Texas Education Agency more authority to make sure schools comply.

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Safety Law News for July 14, 2023

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court denied motions to dismiss a case brought by an administrator who spoke out about the school’s “failure to adopt and/or enforce adequate safety policies related to students bringing weapons and drugs onto school grounds.”  The court concluded that “a jury will have to resolve the dispute” about whether the school district “retaliated against him for filing a lawsuit by transferring him from a position as an Assistant Principal at a middle school to a position as an Assistant Principal at an elementary school.”  The administrator spoke “as a citizen on matters of public interest” and not as an employee when he told school resource officers, city police, parents, journalists, and other teachers and administrators about the unsafe conditions at his school.  As to the law, the court noted that “as of at least 1982,” retaliatory transfers were illegal because, “retaliatory transfers could deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising his constitutional rights.” LiCausi v. Allentown School District

— In New York, the Pine Bush Central School District has published for comment and criticism from the community the “proposed intermunicipal agreements with the Town of Wallkill and the Town of Crawford for the provision of school resource officers.” 

— In Tennessee, the Nashville Police Department has no plans to apply for $5.25 million in new funding available from the state to place school resource officers in each Nashville elementary school, saying the agency does not have capacity to staff the 70 public schools.  The department does plan to apply for state grant funding to support its existing positions at middle and high schools.

— In Oregon, the Beaverton school board unanimously approved an agreement between the city and the school district to staff police in schools.  With modifications, the agreement will change the designation of the police from “school resource officer” to “youth services officer,” and outline specific training required of the officers.  “In 2021, the Beaverton School District authorized a $156,000 contract with local consultant … to review the district’s school resource officer program. The 121-page report found that … 71% of parents and 66% of staff supported the presence of police in schools.”

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Safety Law News for July 11, 2023

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— In California, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that the brief detention of parents of a student suspected of planning a school shooting was reasonable “notwithstanding the lack of reasonable suspicion.”  The police were responding to a request for help in finding the student, who was absent from school that day, but who had “sent a text to his friend saying he intended to shoot up the school.”  Police went to the home of the student, detaining and restraining the parents.  “The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from both unreasonable detentions and excessive force used during the detention.”  Even so, the court noted that, “the reasonableness of (a) detention depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.”  The court held that although the parents were not suspected of engaging in criminal activity they possessed “information essential to preventing a threatened school shooting.”  Therefore, the police “had limited authority to briefly detain and question the (parents) about (the child’s) location due primarily to the exigencies inherent in preventing an imminent school shooting….there was an ongoing emergency threatening numerous lives which required immediate action.”  Bernal v. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department

— In Arizona, the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board approved a comprehensive safety plan that retains school resource officers on campuses.  The plan emphasizes data-driven practices as well as training on students social and emotional well-being to all members of the school safety team.  The adoption of the plan defeats the efforts of some board members to eliminate school resource officers.

— In Louisiana, officials in the West Baton Rouge Parish schools are installing artificial intelligence software that monitors video camera feed to detect weapons and which send alerts to officials of possible threats.  “ZeroEyes,” is being used “in combination with school resource officers, a single point of entry, and a perimeter safeguard.”

— In Connecticut, officials in Clinton are deploying the town’s first therapy dog.  The dog has been “positively received in the schools.”