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Safety Law News for October 1, 2021

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— In Oregon, the United States District Court, ruled that the use of a taser by school resource officers was an excessive use of force.  The student, enrolled in a college preparatory charter school, was discovered in a vacant building near campus, by an SRO.  The officer called for backup to investigate after smelling a “very strong odor of marijuana.”  During the subsequent search and seizure, the second officer utilized three times a taser set on “drive-stun” mode for 5 seconds when the student failed to comply with instruction and started to walk away.  Applying the three-factor test of Graham v. Connor,( 490 U.S. 386 (1989)), the court ruled that the officers were not entitled to summary judgment or qualified immunity because (1) the use of a taser, even in drive-stun mode, is far from a trivial application of force; (2) the crimes at issue were not severe; (3) the student did not pose an immediate threat to the officers.

Michael Francisco  v. City of Redmond

— In Virginia, school resource officers in Prince William County will soon operate under a new set of rules regarding when students are subject to arrest for misbehaving in school.  The Prince William County Police Department and school division officials are in the process of revising the memorandum of understanding that dictates police officers’ role in school discipline matters.

The aim of the revisions is to ensure school resource officers do not arrest students for “minor offenses,” such as thefts, disorderly conduct and fighting.

— In Tennessee, parents in the Shelby County Schools district are pushing for more resource officers inside the schools after a shooting in a K-8 school.  Under current policy, there is one officer for each high school and middle school.  The elementary schools share one officer.
— In California, officials in Cathedral City voted to bring back school resource officers to high schools campuses.  The police were removed based on ambiguity about the role of police officers in maintaining discipline in the schools.

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Safety Law News for September 27, 2021

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— In Illinois, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents of  a student who was injured  while operating a machine in the high school’s technology lab.  School officials were immune civil liability based on the Illinois Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.  Under the Act, educators are immune for failing to supervise an activity on or the use of school property.  The court rejected the argument of the student that the “willful and wanton conduct” exception to immunity was applicable because there was no evidence of a deliberate intention  by educators to cause harm or a conscious disregard for the student’s welfare. Williams v. Streator Township High School District No. 40

— In Illinois, the Chicago Board of Education voted to retain its school resource officer program.  The provisions of the agreement with the Chicago Police Department will deploy officers only in the schools that want them.  Nearly a dozen schools did not wish to retain the officers.

— In Minnesota, officials in the Minneapolis Public Schools, who cancelled the deployment of school resource officers from campuses during the school day are continuing their after-hours policy of using police to provide security at games and other school-sponsored events.

— In Kentucky, Hopkins County School officials sent out a letter to parents to prevent growth of the “the Devious Lick” TikTok challenge where the social media app TikTok is used to encourage students to vandalize schools and school property.

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Safety Law News for September 21, 2021

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— In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland affirmed the dismissal of a negligence action brought by parents against teachers and administrators at their daughter’s middle school for injuries she received from fellow students.  The court found that any negligence by school officials in response to the physical and verbal altercations were entitled to statutory immunity  under the Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Protection Act of 2001.  It was significant that there was “an absence of evidence to support the allegations that the (educators) failed to adequately respond to, investigate, and prevent reasonably foreseeable harm…(and that) the evidence show(ed) that the (school officials) responded and took action.”  Gambrill v. Board of Education of Dorchester County

— In Indiana, most local school districts will use money from an Indiana Department of Homeland Security school safety grant to bolster their school resource officer programs.  The awards, which are for fiscal year 2022, requires school districts with more than 1,000 students to match the amount of money they received dollar-for-dollar.

— In California, after the Aug. 31 death of a student on a high school campus, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board swiftly voted to reinstate student resource officers on campuses and embark on a new pilot program pairing them with mental health clinicians in an attempt to put community safety concerns.

— In Missouri, officials in Washington City are implementing a body camera program in the schools.  Each school resource officer will receive training in its use.  The body cameras archive video footage digitally on the cloud.  The new cameras are also interoperable, meaning they interact with one another to allow officers to see footage from different cameras that were recording at the same time.

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Safety Law News for September 17, 2021

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— In Kansas, the United States District Court ruled that school officials were not immune from a lawsuit brought by a student who was assaulted on campus by a fellow student.  The court viewed the case as one where the “[student’s] actions, and [educators’] awareness of them, are critical.”  Here, the court found that, “[i]t is undisputed that [the student] had a long history of behavioral issues and disciplinary action.”  As such, the court held that under state law, “schools do have a duty to properly supervise students and to take reasonable steps to protect their safety while on school premises…[which] is more demanding than the duties higher education institutions owe to their adult students.”  J.L. v. Royal Valley U.S.D. 337

— In California, school officials in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District are overruling a prior decision to remove school resource officers from their schools.  The school board voted to reinstate the SRO program.  The shift was in direct response to a late-night special meeting with parents after the stabbing death of a student on campus. 

— New York, the Buffalo Public School District is implementing a “High-Risk Youth Team.”  The program is an interagency intervention program for teenagers who are considered at risk of being directly impacted by gun violence in the City of Buffalo.  The Erie County District Attorney,  Buffalo Police Department, the Erie County Restorative Justice agency, and the SNUG Neighborhood Violence Prevention Project will together deliver services based on the individual needs of each participant, which may include restorative justice, mental health services, street outreach, trauma informed care, educational services, mentorship, and job readiness assistance.

— In Colorado, the Denver Public Schools have been granted authority by the City Attorney and City Department of Public Safety to issue disciplinary citations to students for campus misconduct.  Although, the school board has eliminated the school resource officer program, the educators wish to allow its civilian patrol officers to respond  “to significant safety threats.” 

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Safety Law News for September 14, 2021

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— In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland  upheld the search of a student’s backpack, upholding his conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery and for wearing and carrying a handgun.  The search occurred when a school resource officer responded to a fight at the school involving several students.  A backpack strapped to one of the students fell to the ground.  The student ran off.  The officer picked up the bag and noticed that the “bag had a decent amount of weight to it.” The officer opened the bag, discovering a firearm, a cell phone and a school ID.  The court held that the search of the backpack was reasonable because the student abandoned it.  “When a defendant intentionally abandons his right in or to property or a specific area, the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures does not apply.”  Richardson v. State

— In New Jersey, official in the Morris Plains School District are collaborating with the Morris County Sheriff, the Chatham Borough Police Department, and the Washington Township Police Department to retrain their school resource officers.  The School Resource Officer (SRO) Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Program will emphasize tactics and lifesaving medical interventions that may be required during an active shooter incident or similar acts of violence at a school. 

— In North Carolina, the New Hanover County School Board unanimously approved a new parental notification policy when students are in trouble on campus.  Under the new guidelines, parents must be contacted before police and school administrators interrogate a student on a matter.  The interagency agreement with the police department contains the new language.

— In Indiana, the General Assembly has approved a proposal by the Indiana Secured School Safety Board to provide more than $19 million in state grants for school safety.  The program issues matching grants for school resource officers and law enforcement officers in schools, active event warning systems, firearms training for teachers and staff, threat assessments and other safety technology and support services.

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Safety Law News for September 7, 2021

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court upheld the authority of school officials to discipline a student whose off-campus posts on the Internet threatened to “show up at practice to beat yo ass bitch,” to “grab a fucking bottle and bash that shit on your face till I see your brain bitch,” to “send you bitch ass to the father,” and that were followed by the posting of a photograph of the student with a gun.  The court held that the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., which protected a student’s off-campus speech from school discipline did not apply because here the speech of the student was “not merely profane, but they were actual threats.”  The court concluded that, “it does not matter whether (severe bullying or harassment) occur on-campus or off-campus. They are simply not protected by the First Amendment and fall squarely within the authority of schools to regulate and to impose appropriate discipline.” A.F. v. Ambridge Area School District

— Nationally, data show that when students and schools need nurses many schools have no nurses at all.  In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is recommended that schools have one full-time nurse for every 750 students.   Data show that 39% of schools employ full-time nurses and about 35% employ part-time school nurses, while 25% do not employ school nurses.

— In Kentucky, Bill Request 440 has been introduced in the legislature to make resource officers mandatory for Kentucky schools.  The proposal would amend KRS 158.4414 to require the assignment of school resource officers to schools by August 1, 2022, removing a clause in the law that exempts school districts from having an SRO if they can’t afford it.

— In Iowa, the Des Moines Public Schools are implementing a Restoration Justice School Safety program to replace school resource officers. Restoration Facilitators will work in the schools, helping students solve problems by giving them alternate ways to handle a situation before things get out of hand.  The schools will call Des Moines police for campus misconduct that violates the law and will deploy off-duty police at school-sponsored events.