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Safety Law News for January 19, 2022

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— In California, the United States District Court held that the repeated handcuffing of a special education student by educators and police for “acting up” did not merit qualified immunity.  The court ruled that immunity, “does not apply to officers who use unreasonable force.”  The court noted that the conduct of the officers was, “an “obvious violation” of clearly established standards.”  C.B. v. Moreno Valley Unified School District

— In Florida, the legislature in considering a policy that would add cameras to school zones for speeding fines.  Under House Bill 189, drivers would be issued a warning for the first offense. After the first offense, tickets with a fine of $132 would be sent to drivers. in the mail. 

— In Virginia, some school districts plan to disregard Governor Youngkin’s mask order. Executive Order Two makes mask-wearing in schools optional, empowering parents to decide whether children should wear masks.  However, Arlington, Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William county schools have all announced that their mandatory mask guidelines will stay in place.

— In New Mexico, the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act has been introduced.  The provisions of the legislation dictate that if a minor takes an unsecured weapon and shows it off in public, there would be a fine and a misdemeanor charge for the gun owner. If someone is injured or dies, then the gun owner could be charged with a felony.  Hargrove was shot and killed at Washington Middle School by a fellow student.

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Safety Law News for January 12, 2022

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— In California, the California Court of Appeal held that a school had a duty to protect a middle school student from sexual abuse by its music instructor even without actual knowledge of prior abuse or propensity.  The court reversed the dismissal of the case and remanded the lawsuit back to the trial court because, “(a)dministrators who fail to notice, identify, and respond to warning signs that suggest an employee is sexually abusing or will sexually abuse a student bear some moral responsibility for the abuse.”  At trial, the issue will be, “whether the measures school district took to prevent sexual abuse of students and to supervise the music instructor and middle school student were reasonable…(because) “(a) school district that fails to reasonably supervise employees and students increases the likelihood that an employee will sexually abuse a student.”  Doe v. Lawndale Elementary School District

— In Connecticut, the Norwich Board of Education unanimously supported a move to bring school resource police officers back to the its middle schools in response to increased disciplinary issues.  The belief the Board is that, “(g)iven the climate in our schools, given the pandemic and the totality of what’s going on in our world today…the SROs belong back in our middle schools.”

— In Virginia, three proposals on school safety are being introduced in the legislative session.  HB 8 would allow veterans with at least 10 years of active duty military service to be become a School Resource Officer (SRO).  HB 12 would limit the number of entrances per school building and screen each person that enters the school.  HB 37 would mandate an SRO for every high school and middle school and require that the SRO serve on the school’s threat assessment team.

— In Idaho, Lewiston Police Department School Resource Officers are promoting the new “See, Tell, Now!” app, which is an online tool that provides a means for anyone to report suspicious activity anonymously, to ensure safety at school. 

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Safety Law News for January 7th, 2022

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— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division held that a trial court improperly dismissed the case of a student who was injured in a physical education class during which he was blindsided by a much larger student while playing touch football resulting in a fracture of his jaw.  The court returned the case to the lower court for trial because the record contained facts suggesting that the injury was the result of a foreseeable act of which the school had specific knowledge such that it could be reasonably anticipated.  “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.”  Specifically, the day before the incident, “there was a very similar incident involving a collision between two boys during a touch football game in physical education class, resulting in injury.”  Ismahan A. v. Williamsville Board of Education

— In Michigan, Michigan legislators  are forming a bipartisan taskforce to consider school safety policies in response to November’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School.  The goal is to enacts laws that will keep further violence from happening.  

— In Michigan, school officials in the Oxford Community Schools will require students to use clear backpacks on campus in response to November’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School. Officials have also taken other steps, e.g., hiring of a security company to put officers in schools; providing trauma specialists for students and staff; and having therapy dogs in schools.

— In Ohio, officials in the Toledo Public Schools are focusing on new policies to “kids safe before, during and after the school day.”  During 2021, many students were victimized – Toledo experienced 70 homicides in 2021 – with multiple incidents of guns found inside schools. Officials have already decided to conduct daily weapons checks and searches using metal detectors.

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Safety Law News for January 3, 2022

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— In Maryland, the United States District Court, refused to dismiss a case brought by parents of students who were assaulted in the school’s locker room as a part of a hazing ritual known as “brooming.”  The court ruled that the parents successfully stated constitutional injury claims based on the Fourteenth Amendment that, “includes a substantive due process right against state actor conduct that deprives an individual of bodily integrity.”  The court found that the educators promised appropriate oversight and discipline of known troublemakers, but failed to act; eliminated a previously required study hall for bullies; failed to implement supervision of the football locker rooms, despite being directed by higher ups to do so; and ignored the fact that coaches had failed to take mandatory training.  Doe v. Montgomery County Board of Education

— In New York, the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators  passed a resolution authorizing the board chair to sign contracts establishing a school resource officer program for school districts in the county.  SROs, according to the resolution, will be a deputy sheriff of the county Sheriff’s Office who is assigned to work in collaboration with a particular school. The role of the SRO includes being a protector, enforcer, first responder, mentor and community liaison.

— In Tennesseee, the Memphis school board unanimously voted to keep sheriff’s deputies in schools and renewed its school resource officer program.  The memorandum of understanding was amended “to address community concerns and national conversations about negative interactions between students and campus police.”

— In Mississippi, Columbus officials are partnering with the Columbus Municipal School District to explore problems and possible solutions to the increase in gun violence.  According to data, seventy-one students have experienced gun violence in the past five years as a victim or shooter.  The Columbus schools require students to enter the building through metal detectors at least three times a week, or more often after a violent event has occurred in the community.

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Safety Law News for December 14, 2021

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— In Texas, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents whose special needs child was seized by the neck, thrown to the floor, and held in a choke hold by a teacher.  The court affirmed that the teacher did not violate substantive due process, and thus was entitled to qualified immunity because, “(t)he facts alleged simply do not suggest that (the student) was the subject of a random, malicious, and unprovoked attack, which would justify (liability).”  The court emphasized that here the conduct of the teacher occurred “in a disciplinary context,”  after the student hit the teacher.  “(W)e have consistently dismissed substantive due process claims when the offending conduct occurred in a disciplinary, pedagogical setting.”  T.O. v. Fort Bend Independent School District

— In Iowa, the school board for the Ames Community School District voted unanimously to end its school resource officer program for the 2022-23 school year, following years of intense community discussion over how the presence of police impacts students.

— In Massachusetts, the Worcester City Council adopted a resolution to revise its school resource officer program.  The officials do not intend to eliminate the presence of police in schools.  The goal is to implement a “school liaison” model in which officers are assigned to quadrants in the schools for entry and dismissal times. 

— In New York,  the Kingston Board of Education is implementing major revisions to its school resource officer program.  The officers, from the Kingston city and Ulster town police departments, will not be involved in the discipline of students.  The officers will not be allowed to serve non-school warrants while on school property.  The officers will discontinue wearing formal traditional police uniforms.

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Safety Law News for December 9, 2021

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— In California, the Court of Appeal of California affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit for failing to protect a middle school student from sexual abuse by a teacher and for breach of the mandatory duty to report suspected abuse under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.  The appellate court agreed that schools “have a duty to protect students from sexual abuse by school employees, even if the school does not have actual knowledge of a particular employee’s history of committing, or propensity to commit, such abuse.”  However, the court ruled that educators could not be liable because, “here was no evidence that any school district employee knew facts from which a reasonable person in a like position would have suspected that (the teacher) had sexually abused student.”  Doe v. Lawndale Elementary School District

— In Indiana, the South Bend Community School Corporation voted to continue its school resource officer program.  The 4-3 vote was influenced by a survey of students, employees and the community, in which 77.7% were very positive or somewhat positive of the policy.

— In Virginia, the Harrisonburg School Board unanimously voted to keep school resource officers in its schools.  The SRO Task Force, made up of teachers, parents, and community members and leaders, revised the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with local police to implement changes in the role of the campus officers.

— In Washington D.C., government officials are providing funding of $4.3 Million to expand the Safe Passage Program.  The program creates Safe Passage Safe Blocks (SPSB) supervised by adults placed on mapped routes to support student safety as students travel to and from school.