Safety Law News for 6/22/12

  • About 60 high school seniors decided to organize a celebratory bike ride to school, rather than a senior prank, and secured a police and mayoral escort. The seniors were disciplined when they arrived at school, based on the upset principal’s safety concerns, but the school is now lifting those sanctions.
  • Educators in Smithtown, New York can now administer Breathalyzer tests to students during school hours and at school-sponsored events. Positive test results will trigger parent or guardian notifications, while students at risk of alcohol poisoning can also be referred to medical personnel.

School Safety Law News for 6/18/12

  • A high school freshman in New York was suspended for her anti-bullying class projects: a YouTube video and a Facebook page featuring a fictitious bullying victim, who commits suicide. Educators allegedly said that the student’s actions could lead to jail time, while many families believe the school overreacted.
  • An Oklahoma sixth grader was expelled for dunking a classmate’s head in the toilet—and his principal reported him to the police. This appears to be a first time offense. “I think bullying has been a problem since I was in school. It’s just dealt with differently now,” the principal said.
  • School safety goes collaborative in Maryland, where community members in AAA of Maryland reward students for being Outstanding School Safety Patrols. Students are selected for leadership, solid academics, and character.

Safety Law News 6/12/12

  • Wyoming students have a new motivation to avoid drugs: participation in extracurricular activities will be conditioned on participation in random drug tests.
  • Parents are worried after two attempted kidnappings in Oregon. Educators say that a young girl responded to an attempted abduction, at the bus stop, exactly as the school trained her to do: she walked away.

Safety Law News for 6/8/12

  • Indianapolis Public Schools expelled a student who brought a stun gun to school. His mother gave him the stun gun to protect himself against bullies — and the community is vocally protesting his expulsion.
  • A New Jersey principal wants parents to ban Facebook, saying that middle school students are not “socially and emotionally ready to understand” the impact of mean words posted online.
  • Students in one West Virginia county have posted Facebook threats against the school three times in one month. While educators discipline students who post threats, at least one parent has blocked her daughter from using Facebook and Twitter.

Safety Law News for 6/6/12

  • An Iowa middle school student stabbed a classmate in the back, after being repeatedly bullied, and says that he acted in self-defense. Without condoning the stabbing, the boy’s mother says that her son tried to avoid going home on the same bus as his bullies that day, and says that educators have not responded adequately.

Safety Law News for 6/4/12

  • A new FCC condition on federal technology funds — combined with a new anti-cyberbullying law in Ohio — mean that educators face new imperatives in teaching students about social media use.
  • After educators strip searched a girl for drugs, they learned that the tipster had a personal motive for saying the girl possessed drugs. The district “may or may not” have obtained permission to search from the girl’s grandfather, but her family is now suing the district for acting unreasonably.
  • Georgia educators banned a student from attending his own graduation, after he appealed his punishment for a senior prank. A federal court says that the student has a First Amendment right to criticize the school — and that he can walk in graduation.