Uncategorized

Safety Law News for March 13, 2023

by  • 

— In California, the Court of Appeal of California reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a teacher who “had a sexual relationship with one of his students which included sexual activities in his classroom.”  The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, reasoning that “there was no evidence the District knew or should have known that (the teacher) posed a risk of harm to students.”  On appeal, the case was remanded back for trial.  The appellate court declared that, “the (school) had a duty to take reasonable measures to protect (the student) from sexual abuse by (the teacher). This is so because the (school) had a special relationship with (the student)…We further conclude that whether the (school) breached its duty to (the student) is a question for a trier of fact (for the jury to decide).”  On the duty issue, the court held that, “a school district and its employees have a special relationship with the district’s pupils, a relationship arising from the mandatory character of school attendance and the comprehensive control over students exercised by school personnel…Because of this special relationship…the duty of care owed by school personnel includes the duty to use reasonable measures to protect students from foreseeable injury at the hands of third parties acting negligently or intentionally.”  Doe v. Anderson Union High School District

— In Indiana, Bartholomew County school officials and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office are adding two additional DARE instructors.  The DARE program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), is a course that “teaches students good decision making skills in order for them to lead safe and healthy lives.”  The officials believe that, “(t)he DARE program is a corner stone of the relationship between law enforcement and the community’s youth.”

— In Ohio, the City of Middletown rejected a grant from the state to purchase body cameras for its officers, including police deployed in schools.  The Middletown Division of Police wants to procure them.  City officials are refusing because “because it doesn’t have the money to pay the salary and benefits for one or maybe two redaction specialists.”

— In Nevada, officials in Carson City are hosting a gang awareness and prevention workshop for parents. “Two ex-Carson City gang members attended the class and spoke to the parents about their real live experience as a gang member, gave them tips on what to look for, and how to address the problem in their family.”

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for March 10, 2023

by  • 

— In Iowa, the United States District Court dismissed a lawsuit against a police officer and a school district brought by a student who was taken down to the ground and briefly handcuffed after engaging in behavior that the officer believed was threatening toward the school principal.  The court observed that were two competing governing standards under the Fourth Amendment.  Under  Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), “courts must consider: (1) the severity of the crime at issue; (2) whether the suspect posed an immediate threat to anyone; and (3) whether the suspect was actively resisting arrest or attempting to flee.”  Under New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985), “a seizure is justified at its inception if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school. A seizure is reasonable in scope if it is reasonably related to the objectives of the investigation and not excessive in light of the student’s characteristics and the nature of the alleged infraction.”  The court concluded that “(u)nder both the Graham and T.L.O. standards, the (officer’s) conduct was objectively reasonable.”  “(The student’s) behavior culminated in him moving toward (the principal) while yelling, clenching his fists, and raising his arm. In these circumstances, (the officer’s) use of force to take (the student) down and briefly place him in handcuffs was aggressive but not unreasonable, particularly given (the student’s) large size and strength for his age and (the officer’s) awareness that (the student) had already made physical contact with (the principal) and another school employee a few minutes earlier.”  M.C. v. JAMES BENNETT, THE CITY OF BETTENDORF, & BETTENDORF COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Eastern Division. December 1, 2022; 2022 WestLaw 18956169.

— In North Dakota, the Fargo Police Department and the West Fargo Public Schools are broadening the roles of the police officers deployed to the campuses to combat bullying.  The officers are trained to understand that “bullying and fights can be a teaching moment for all involved.”  The school resource officer program places special emphasis on officers as an “asset that is in place to help students.”

— In Massachusetts, the Somerville School Committee voted to call for the permanent removal of police from the city’s public schools.  The new policy would not deploy officers at schools, but would summon police for emergency situations. “School discipline would be the responsibility of school administrators. The school community would get to know the officers during structured meetings such as coffee hours, workshops and during extracurricular or athletic activities.”

— In Washington State, an agreement between six Wenatchee school districts and Chelan County “will allow school resource officers to partner with the county jail’s narcotics-detecting dog and her handler.”  The dog has been trained to detect six odors, including marijuana, and fentanyl.

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for March 6, 2023

by  • 

— In Maryland, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by students who alleged that they were improperly subjected to video recording at school without their knowledge or consent while they were dressing for school-sponsored event. The court held that the students had reasonable expectation of privacy in principal’s office.  The unauthorized video recording constituted a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment and the case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 7 (1985).  Further, the court refused to grant educators qualified immunity because the rights granted students under the Fourth Amendment were clearly established.  “Even before considering (students’) allegation that the (educators’) motivation was sexual in nature, there is no basis to conclude that the video recording was either justified at the inception or conducted in a manner reasonably related in scope to circumstances that would justify the search.”  Does 1-22 v. Board. of Education of Prince George’s County

— In Denver, high school students at Denver Public Schools staged a “walk-out” to protest the absence of police on their campuses.  Denver Public Schools did away with the school resource officer program in 2020.  A growing, diverse body of students now want police to return.  “I shouldn’t have to fight for SROs to be in the building,” a student of color commented. “I should feel safe enough without them, but we have had way too many instances where I feel SROs could have been a help in our building and they just weren’t there… I agreed when they removed SROs in 2020, but now I am at a school that has been affected by gun violence and I don’t feel safe.”

— In Massachusetts, campus safety committees at the Timberlane and Salem schools are assessing crisis policies and implementing new procedures.  Lockdown protocols for active threats and ALICE training are being installed. “All four Timberlane towns — Plaistow, Atkinson, Sandown and Danville — and their law enforcement agencies are involved with the new response plan.”

— In Connecticut, Raised Bill No. 1095 has been introduced to shift duties among local agencies who protect students in school.  If enacted, the provisions of the law would, “require Connecticut school districts employing SROs to develop a set of policies covering the use of restraints and firearms by those officers, as well as their ability to make school-based arrests. The bill would also give school districts the option of transferring some of the duties of SROs to other trained staff members, including school counselors, social workers, psychologists and aides.”

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for March 3, 2023

by  • 

— In South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the invalidation of South Carolina’s disorderly conduct law.  The law, prohibiting disorderly or boisterous conduct in public places and prohibiting the use of obscene or profane language within earshot of the school, was unconstitutionally vague in violation of Due Process Clause.  The appellate court agreed with the lower court that, “(t)he disorderly conduct law fails to give South Carolina’s schoolchildren fair warning about what it prohibits and vests practically unfettered discretion in those charged with its enforcement. We thus agree with the district court that the portions of that law prohibiting disorderly, boisterous, obscene, or profane language within earshot of a school are unconstitutionally vague as applied to elementary and secondary school students.”  Carolina Youth Action Project v. Wilson

— In Wisconsin, Assembly Bill 69, introduced by the legislature, would require schools with unsafe campuses to deploy police.  The text of the legislation in pertinent part: requires each public school, including a charter school, to report any incident that occurs in a school building or on school grounds to local law enforcement.” The bill provides that, “if 100 or more incidents occur in and on the buildings and grounds of a public school…and at least 25 of those incidents…result in an arrest, the school board shall, no later than the first day of the next school year, employ or contract for the employment of a law enforcement officer as an armed school resource officer to work at the school.”

— In Washington, D.C., “lawmakers are backing a proposal that would keep police officers in schools, reversing a measure that sought to remove law enforcement from campuses by 2025.”  “In January, police said a man who worked with the city’s Safe Passage Safe Blocks program, an effort designed to keep students safe on their commutes to and from school, was killed in a shooting outside Coolidge High School in Northwest Washington. Before that, Andre Jamar Robertson Jr., 15, died in an October shooting near Aiton Elementary School in Northeast.”  Some officials believe that, “Alongside teachers, counselors, and mental health pros, trained & trauma-informed SROs are important members of school communities.”

— In Connecticut, Waterbury schools Superintendent defended having school resource officers in city schools before state legislators, testifying favorably on an Education Committee bill that proposes to require agreements between school districts and local police departments on school resource officers to specify procedures relating to the restraint of students, use of firearms and school-based arrests.

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for March 1, 2023

by  • 

— In Washington State, the Court of Appeals of Washington reversed the lower court and reinstated the lawsuit of a student who was indefinitely suspended from high school for gang-related activity on campus.  The appellate court held that the educators could not indefinitely suspend the student informally because of a provision of the state education code governing procedures for short-term suspensions.  The appellate court held that this invalid form of school discipline called “blue-slipping” – when schools adopt informal procedures to govern suspensions – “effectively expell(ed) him from school” while ignoring state policy and longstanding rules.  The court rejected the defense of the school that campus safety concerns justified their decision.  “A school district’s policy cannot conflict with state statutes.”  M.G. v. Yakima School District No. 7

— In Michigan, officials in East Lansing will hire three unarmed security officers to patrol its high school, and are seriously considering hiring a police officer to work as a school resource officer following recent violent acts at the high school, the shooting on the campus of near-by Michigan State University and a community survey in which 72% of “students, staff, community members and others… supported hiring a school resource officer.”

— In Alabama, officials in the Jefferson County School District are receiving Narcan kits.  Data show that fentanyl is increasingly showing up in recreational drugs and students are not always aware that they’re getting drugs laced with fentanyl.  Across the state, schools are adding Narcan on campuses and training school personnel.  “According to the Alabama Department of Education, 75% of Alabama public high schools stock Narcan while 53% of middle schools have it on campus and 32% of elementary schools keep Narcan if needed.”

— In North Carolina, Stanly County Schools will soon administer safety checks in the high schools and middle schools using metal detectors.  The security checks will be random.  Officials say that “we (will) not maintain an advanced calendar for the checks nor (will) we share any times for security reasons.”

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for February 27, 2023

by  • 

— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, reversed and remanded for a new trial a case in which school officials used state and federal special education laws as a defense from liability.  The student, “identified as a student with a disability within the meaning of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 because of deficiencies related to her physical coordination and strength,” was “injured during her participation in the school’s mainstream physical education class…..(when) she was permitted to continue practicing her skills at various (“KiDnastics”)  stations throughout the gym while the gym teacher continued evaluating other students.”  The court refused the defense of the school that, “it would in fact have been illegal for defendant to do anything more than what is expressly directed in the 504 plan – that is, nothing – to supervise the child.”  The court held that, “a school district’s written 504 plan does not operate as a supervision ceiling in all respects and circumstances… a school that is aware of a student’s particular disability that makes him or her more susceptible to injury is required to exercise care commensurate with such disability.”  Jaquin v. Canastota Central School District

— In Illinois, a positive six-month report on the decision by officials in the City of DeKalb to expand its school resource officer program is encouraging the community.  With restorative practices as the focus of school discipline reforms, data show, “lower violent activity in schools that resulted in police involvement.”  Arrests were also down.

— In Indiana, proposed legislation will require police who take a student into custody to make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent “before the child can be moved to a different location.”  Senate Bill 415 also provides that a statement made to police by a juvenile while in police custody is inadmissible if the police communicate false information regarding evidence or false statements regarding penalties or leniency.

— In Virginia, House Bill 2292, if enacted will require localities to provide enhanced retirement benefits to school resource officers. The bill also allows a retired law-enforcement officer to return to work as a school resource officer after a break in service of at least 12 months without impacting his retirement benefits.