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Safety Law News for April 5, 2023

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–  In Texas, United States Court of Appeals, affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a student who was suspended from the school’s football team for off-campus speech and transferred to an alternative school for the marijuana found in his vehicle during a subsequent on-campus search.  The appellate court agreed with the lower court that qualified immunity was appropriately given to the educators.  The student used the Internet to “send a message containing a racially-charged term to a student from a rival high school from an off-campus location following a football game.”  The speech fell within the range of school-discipline speech after the U.S. Supreme Court case on the First Amendment — Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. ex rel Levy, because it was off-campus speech directed at the school community.  The appellate court also agreed that before Mahanoy no case placed educators “on notice that it would be unconstitutional to discipline (the student) for his off-campus speech…for a threat of violence apparently stated in jest.”  The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the student’s claims based on the Due Process Clause, holding that he did not have a protected property or liberty interest in being on the school’s football team, nor was the student deprived of a protected property or liberty interest when placed in an alternative education program after marijuana was found in his car.  McClelland v. Katy Independent School District

— In Colorado, officials in the Denver Public Schools are continuing their resumption of collaboration with the Denver Police Department to provide school resource officers at more than a dozen campuses as soon as possible. The resumption of the school resource officers’ program comes following two campus shootings in February and March.

— In Arizona,  the safety committee for the Phoenix Public Schools is recommending the return of school resource officers.  The committee, after receiving feedback from “from students, parents, and staff,”  is asking the school board to vote on deploying “officers at all 23 campuses”  two years after the District removed the police.

— In Texas, school resource officers for the City of Irving are bonding with students while conducting a Safety Patrol Camp.  The students, called “Jr. Officers,” learn how to properly fold flags, how to assist with traffic control in their school parking lots, and how to problem solve.

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Safety Law News for March 31, 2023

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–  In North Carolina, the United States District Court rejected the Title VI claim of a parent that racial discrimination was the motivation behind a search of her vehicle, which her daughter parked in the school lot. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in schools that receive federal educational funds.  The court dismissed the lawsuit because the school used a canine to conduct random sniffs of a row of cars in the parking lot.  The animal, trained to detect the odors of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, alerted on parent’s car.  The car was searched over the objection of the parent, who was called to the campus.  The court held that the parent, “failed, after having been afforded full discovery, to produce any evidence of discrimination, and her own naked opinion, without more, is not enough to establish a prima facie case of discrimination.”  The court also held that, “the evidence is that the car was flagged after a random dog sniff in the student parking lot…(the dog) did not know who the car belonged to.”  Humphries v. Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education

— In Arizona, the Phoenix Union High School District’s safety committee recommended bringing back school resource officers at its schools.  “The committee also passed a potential intergovernmental agreement between Phoenix PD and the district that provides guidelines, including that officers should not participate in school discipline and confirming the authority of the schools in hiring, training, and supervising the officers.”

— In Colorado, the school safety program in the Thompson School District is finding success in sending mental health clinicians to campus calls with police officers.  So far, the partnering of a school resource officer with a mental health clinician to calls has occurred in “nearly 150 calls involving students in crisis or with mental health needs… Once people start to understand what our role is in the district and how we can be utilized, our calls have started to pick up. We went from averaging two to three calls a day and now we’re upwards of five contacts in a day between the two of us…We’re not writing tickets…We’re not taking students to jail. We are getting them connected with services on the spot.”

— In Colorado, the City of Denver will pay for police officers returning to schools.  The Denver Police Department has agreed to provide school resource officers to the schools.  The school resource officers were phased out beginning in 2020.  Violence in the schools is making a priority the return of police to campuses.

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Safety Law News for March 29, 2023

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— In Tennessee, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that a school’s failure to diagnose a student’s disability at earliest possible moment was not a per se violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a case brought by parents who alleged that their child was denied services under IDEA when the school only took disciplinary steps against the child without testing him for a disability.  The court reasoned that “some disabilities are notoriously difficult to diagnose and even experts disagree about whether some should be considered disability at all.”  In addition, the court noted that the student, “had no history of receiving special education services, was enrolled in middle school for very brief time, and had recently moved across state lines as potential explanation for his disciplinary issues.” Ja. B. v. Wilson County Board of Education

— In Kentucky, legislation was signed into law allowing parochial and other private schools to develop pacts with local law enforcement agencies or the Kentucky State Police to have school resource officers on their campuses.  House Bill 540 puts private schools on equal footing with Kentucky’s public school systems.

— In Ohio, the Board for the Ashland City Schools approved a resolution that will allow county school resource officers to carry weapons on school grounds.  Under the newly-passed resolution, any person “designated in writing by the Superintendent” who also meets certain training requirements — in this case, county school resource officers — can open carry or concealed carry a weapon on school grounds.

— In Denver, the Denver Public Schools Board is acknowledging that “pressure from the community” was a “driving factor” in the reinstatement of the school resource officer program.  “Over 1,000 emails,” predominantly from folks that were impacted following a shooting that injured two faculty members, “were saying that they truly wanted the return of school resource officers.”  The Superintendent is authorized to “develop a long-term safety plan by the end of the summer.”

— In Oregon, the legislature is exploring ways to provide parents with real-time, accurate information when an emergency takes place in schools.  House Bill 3584 would require schools to alert parents, guardians and employees of safety threats.  “The bill instructs the Oregon Department of Education to develop a process in which schools can electronically notify individuals within 24 hours of an event.

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Safety Law News for March 24, 2023

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— Nationally, the United States Supreme Court ruled that “(t)he Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) seeks to ensure children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education.”  The Court held that the IDEA administrative procedures for resolving disputes between students and educators is a separate remedy for parents that does not prevent parents from also bringing a lawsuit for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The ruling will allow a deaf student, to pursue both remedies, based on his allegations that educators failed in their duties under IDEA and ADA.  The lower courts had “ barred (the student) from bringing an ADA claim without first exhausting all of IDEA’s administrative dispute resolution procedures.”  The Supreme Court reversed, holding that, where a (student) brings a suit under another federal law for compensatory damages—a form of relief … IDEA does not provide…. nothing in (IDEA) bars his way.”   The Court did caution that, “a (student) who files an ADA action seeking both damages and the sort of equitable relief IDEA provides may find his request barred or deferred if he has yet to exhaust (IDEA administrative procedures.)”  Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools

— In Colorado, the Denver Public Schools Superintendent ordered the return of school resource officers to its campuses.  In June 2020, the Denver Public Schools Board unanimously voted to remove student resource officers from campuses.  But a recent campus shooting in which two administrators were shot has changed the views of the Board.  “The board responded by saying it supports [the Superintendent’s] decision.”  The Mayor of the City of Denver Mayor “also called the decision to remove SROs a “mistake.””

— In Maryland, an audit conducted of the Baltimore County Public Schools and the police department discovered “ongoing concerns about whether county schools are safe for both students and staff.”  The report spells out seven problems and the corrective actions that need to be taken, including, “the police department is not quickly reporting to the school system student arrests made (off campus),” “regular meetings are not happening,” and “officers are not consistently teaching the required Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program.”

— In Florida, the School Guardians Program, which employs non-sworn employees to patrol schools, is receiving positive feedback in the Escambia County Public Schools.  “There is no age limit for the program — only a minimum of physical requirements and ongoing recertification processes each guardian goes through.”  “Each guardian must be licensed to carry a firearm, and certified with more than 140 hours training by the sheriff’s office.”

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Safety Law News for March 17, 2023

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— In Maryland, the United States District Court ruled that a school district and educators were not immune from a lawsuit brought by parents for the sexual abuse of their six-year old daughter committed by two of her first-grade classmates while at school.  The court held that, “a school is under a special duty to exercise reasonable care to protect a pupil from harm.”  Both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Maryland tort law provided a basis for liability because the educators had notice of the abuse.  The court rejected arguments that the Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Liability Protection Act provided protection from liability.  The court agreed that the federal law, “immunizes any teacher, including a principal or administrator, for harm caused [to a student] by an act or omission of the teacher on behalf of the school if the teacher was acting within the scope of the teacher’s employment or responsibilities to a school.”  But the court ruled that “the immunity, however, is not absolute.”  As to Title IX, the Coverdell Act, “does not apply to any misconduct for which the defendant has been found to have violated a Federal or State civil rights law.”  As to Maryland tort law, “the Coverdell Act states (that) a State law that makes the school or governmental entity liable for the acts or omissions of its teachers to the same extent as an employer is liable for the acts or omissions of its employees.”  The court held that Maryland Statute CJ §5-518 defeats immunity for the school district.  Robinson v. Board of Education of Washington County

— In Nevada, the legislature is looking to repeal the Restorative Justice Law, which was passed in 2019.”  Assembly Bill 285 will authorize the removal or suspension of “a student who engages in certain infractions, such as violent behavior or bringing drugs to school.”  Lawmakers are responding to “an overwhelming number of educators now wanting [restorative justice] removed.”

— In Illinois, the Evanston Township High School District is considering an new policy to “grant the Evanston Police Department access to over 500 [high school] surveillance cameras in the event of an emergency.”  The City Council has approved the policy in an intergovernmental agreement.

— In Tennessee, the Governor is proposing sweeping changes to enhance school safety across Tennessee, requiring all K-12 public schools to keep their exterior doors locked or risk losing escalating amounts of state funding with each violation.

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Safety Law News for March 15, 2023

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— In New York, the Supreme Court of New York denied the motion of educators to dismiss the lawsuit of a student for sexual abuse by a teacher/coach.  The court instead ruled that the student was entitled to summary judgment.  The court rejected defenses by the school district, including, (1) the student reached the age of consent during the period of abuse; (2) the student filed the lawsuit too late and that the state Child Victims Act did not revive it; (3) school liability was mitigated by the failure of the student to promptly report the incidents to school officials; and (4)  liability was mitigated because “instances of kissing and sexual intercourse took place off campus.”  The court ruled that, “Schools are under 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.”  “None of the legislative history suggests that the Legislature intended to limit revival [of claims]… after the relevant statute of limitations has run.”  “There is no legal support for the proposition that [educators’] duty to provide supervision of its students, or its duty to supervise its employees, is delegable to its students such that they are under a duty to mitigate by promptly reporting a teacher’s sexual abuse.”  “[T]he location of the abuse is not dispositive in that schools may be held liable where those acts are preceded by inappropriate behavior that occurred on campus.”  SR v. Gates Chili Board of Education

— In Wisconsin, the legislature is considering two proposals to enhance campus safety.  Assembly Bill 69 requires that if 100 incidents occur during a semester and at least 25 of those incidents result in an arrest, a school must employ an armed school resource officer by the following school year.  Assembly Bill 53 will require schools to collect and report information about crimes.  The State Assembly has approved both AB 69 and AB 53, calling AB 53 “a school transparency bill [because] parents deserve to know if their children’s schools are failing.”

— In Tennessee, Senate Bill 141/House Bill 127 would allow in emergency situations “school resource officers, school security officers, and any other law enforcement officers who are certified to do so, [to] apply “mechanical restraint[s]” to special education students.”  First, officers will have to go through a “behavior intervention training” program.

— In Ohio, the Groveport Madison School Board is considering a comprehensive campus safety plan in response to gun incidents that have parents calling for more aggressive policies.  “The safety plan lists metal/weapon detectors and detection wands as additional strategies, along with recommendations for more social workers, safety and security staff, school resource officers, and school nurses.”