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Safety Law News for November 15, 2022

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— In New York, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by parents of a student assaulted by fellow students on campus.  The federal court held that although the lawsuit asserted a non-federal claim (a negligence claim based on state law), that “(t)his case, however, is not the usual case.”  The court noted that, “it is well settled that a school owes a common-law duty to adequately supervise its students.”  This duty, when combined with notice on the part of school officials of a pattern of violations of the school code of conduct by the assailants without any apparent intervention justified sending the case to trial to determine whether the school was liable for failure to protect the student from being bullied and physically attacked.  F.H. v. The City of Yonkers

— In Virginia, officials in the Alexandria School Board are taking steps to extend its agreement with the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers.  The Alexandria City Council defunded the SRO program in the 2021 budget. However, a spate of disruptions, including weapons-related incidents, prompted the return of the officers. The School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) Advisory Group has been tasked with issuing a Report with recommendations to revise the school safety program and an MOU proposal for police involvement.

— In Tennessee, officials in the Knox County Schools announced new security measures ahead of the 2022-23 school year.  The “Safe Schools, Safe Students” initiative includes: recruiting military veterans as school security officers, staffing an anonymous tip line monitored seven days a week, upgrading body cameras for school security officers, an integrated visitor screening system, and upgraded video surveillance systems.

— In Ohio, school officials in Sunbury continue to meet with parents and members of the community to resolve whether or not teachers and staff should be armed.  State law (House Bill 99) authorizes schools to make their own policy on the matter, allowing school systems to arm school teachers and staff with just 24 hours of training.  Some are proposing instead that more school resource officers be deployed on campus.

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Safety Law News for November 8, 2022

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— In Wisconsin, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin upheld the removal of a teacher from campus to keep students safe.  The court ruled that the school board “acted reasonably” based on evidence that the teacher had inappropriate physical contact with middle-school boys.  The court agreed with the school board that it did not have to wait for express permission from the human resources (HR) department nor did it have to wait until the teacher was criminally charged and his teaching license revoked.  Klosterman v School District of Omro

— In New Mexico, parents are patrolling Gadsden Independent School District schools as part of the parents-on-patrol program (POP), that was set in place due to a lack of school resource officers (SROs).

— In Nebraska, suspensions rose at Lincoln Public Schools, but calls to law enforcement, citations fell last school year.  Calls to law enforcement were down, and juvenile referrals — when officers issue a citation — decreased even more.  Officers initiated just 2.9% of calls that resulted in a citation.

— In Ohio, school resource officers in the Canal Winchester schools acknowledge that while the safety of students and an immediate presence in the event of a threat to student safety is a priority, it is equally important to make connections with students and establish a rapport with students at an early age.

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Safety Law News for November 3, 2022

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— In Oklahoma, the United States District Court held that because of the special relationship between a school and its students, a lawsuit against a school district could proceed.  The students alleged that school officials failed to properly investigate and report a pattern of sexually inappropriate behavior by an employee.  Traditional immunity from suit did not apply because under Oklahoma law, “policy level or planning decisions are considered discretionary and hence immune, whereas operational level decisions made in the performance of the policy are considered ministerial and not exempt from liability.”  Based on these immunity reforms the court concluded that, “(t)he choices inherent in hiring, retaining, and supervising a particular [employee] are not policy choices our legislature intended to immunize…government employees have a duty to execute the policy on the operational level without negligence.”  When applying this to the school environment, the court stated, “(t)he highest duty of a public education entity is to ensure the safety and well-being of students attending school.”  Doe v. Oologah-Talala Independent Sch. District No. 4 of Rogers County

— In North Carolina, the North Carolina legislature has earmarked additional funding in the budget for schools to hire and pay school resource officers.  North Carolina will receive more than $74.1 million in school safety grants.  Low-income districts can apply for a grant that gives it $4 for every $1 spent in non-state funds for a police officer.

— In Missouri, parents in St. Louis are asking questions about the efficiency of the school safety plan after a deadly school shooting at a high school.  Security officers assigned to schools in the St. Louis Public School District are not armed.  The shooter, who killed two people and wounded several others, was flagged by an FBI background check but was still able to purchase the AR-15-style rifle he used in the attack.

— In Texas, the Marble Falls ISD Board of Trustees have approved an expanded interlocal school safety MOU to add the city of Granite Shoals to the school resource officer program.  There are currently two SRO officers in the program. The approval expands the number to five.

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Safety Law News for November 1, 2022

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— In Colorado, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the search of the backpack of a student after the school’s Threat Appraisal Team implemented a Safety Plan that included a search requirement in response to his prior felony adjudications.  The search found a fully loaded handgun.  The court affirmed the search and the adjudication as a second-time juvenile offender and for possessing a weapon on school grounds, noting that, “(a) search may be justified at its inception without reasonable suspicion where the record shows that the student had a substantially diminished expectation of privacy in his or her person or property.”  People In Interest of J.G.

— In Tennessee, the Governor is implementing Executive Order 97 which directs state agencies to “equip and engage parents, increase transparency and collaborate with local law enforcement and school districts.”  The School Safety Toolkit for Tennessee Families includes the SafeTN app, school-based behavioral health liaisons, mobile crisis providers through dialing 988, and frequent, unannounced checks to see that school doors latch and precautions are in place.

— In West Virginia, schools are on track to implement a statewide school safety plan in all 55 counties by the beginning of 2023.  The Department Education is providing $2 million dollars in grants to prevent shootings and other violent acts in schools.  The goal is to have a police officer in every school building in West Virginia.

— In Oregon, the parent of a high school student has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the Portland Public Schools after school bullies assaulted her daughter on campus as a staff member strolled by and did nothing.  The Portland Public Schools removed police officers in 2020.

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Safety Law News for October 28, 2022

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— In New Mexico, the United States District Court ruled that an injured student, who obtains more details in discovery about school indifference in protecting students, is entitled to amend her allegations.  The court ruled that the additional information – e.g., the school did not impose any discipline on the perpetrator despite knowing previously instances of rape, assaults, and inappropriate behavior – “connect(ed) the dots” to “facilitate a better resolution of the issues.”  The court held that “(the student’s) proposed additions merely provide more detail about existing allegations.”  Doe v Taos Municipal Schools

— In Kentucky, schools are struggling to hire police officers after a Kentucky law went into effect requiring officers in every school building.  According to a report from the State School Security Marshall’s office, nearly 55% of schools didn’t have an officer on campus.

— In Texas, the Marfa Independent School District received its first exterior door safety audit, a random security check performed by the Texas School Safety Center at the behest of Governor Greg Abbott as part of a statewide effort to assess school security in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last May. The initiative to ensure the proper locking of exterior doors is a result of authorities discovering that the Robb Elementary shooter entered through a door with an automatic lock that failed.

— In Michigan, the Grand Island Public Schools and the Grand Island Police Department are partnering on a new program for elementary students: Lunch with a LEO (law enforcement officer).  The officers will adopt an elementary school where they would visit with students.  The goal of the program is to help familiarize students with law enforcement while also allowing the officers to familiarize themselves with the school and administration.

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Safety Law News for October 25, 2022

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— In California, the California Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents whose child was abused by a teacher, holding that school liability does not require proving that the school had actual knowledge of the abuse.  The court ruled that the standard in education law is more rigorous than the standard applied in lawsuits involving other government officials.  In schools, a constructive knowledge standard controls, in which “a public school district may be vicariously liable …for the negligence of administrators or supervisors in hiring, supervising and retaining a school employee who sexually harasses and abuses a student.”  Because of its rigor, “constructive knowledge is knowledge that may be shown by circumstantial evidence which is nothing more than one or more inferences which may be said to arise reasonably from a series of proven facts.”  Roe v Hesperia Unified School District

— In Illinois, officials in the Macomb School District are seeing a noticeable difference in student behavior after deploying a second school resource officer.  Instances of bullying, students insubordination (entering and leaving classrooms without permission) have ceased.  No arrests have been made this school year.  The new officer also teaches Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) classes in the schools.

— In Indiana, more school districts are creating police departments as a means to ensure school safety.  The  school district police department is overseen by the school board and the superintendent rather than being overseen by a municipal body of government.   Also, the sole focus of the officer in a school police department is the school campus rather than the community at-large.

— In Virginia, the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors are requiring an eight-hour course on crisis management for school-based emergency incidents. The course is designed for school administrators, law enforcement, school resource officers and emergency management professionals.  It goal is to enhance student safety and emergency response preparedness.