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Safety Law News for March 23, 2021

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— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, held that a school was not liable for injuries sustained by a student at the hands of a fellow student.  The court ruled that “a school district acts in loco parentis with respect to its minor students, [and] owes a special duty to the students.”  This duty requires that schools “adequately supervise the students in their care.”  The court dismissed the lawsuit because the school took reasonable steps to prevent the fight.  While the steps failed to prevent the incident, the court concluded that the school “cannot reasonably be expected to continuously supervise and control all movements and activities of students.”  Wienclaw v. East Islip Union Free School District

— In Florida, the Florida Legislature is considering a proposal to allow counties and municipalities to install cameras in school speed zones and enforce speed limits.  Schools support the legislation based on data that shows its school buses are illegally passed more than 400 times each day while children are getting on and off the buses.

— In Virginia, officials in the Albemarle County School District are planning to replace the police officers in its school safety program with “school safety coaches.”  The new positions will require completion of the police-based school safety officer certification through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services.  Even so, the coaches will neither be armed nor have the authority to arrest.

— In Missouri, the Hannibal Public Schools have revised their anti-bullying program to make greater use of the Courage2Report App to report, document, and act upon incidents of bullying.  When a student uses the app, officials immediately get an email and take action.  Data compiled by the State of Missouri shows that students in rural areas are 15.5% more likely to be bullied than students in urban areas.

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Safety Law News for March 19, 2021

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— In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland reversed the adjudication of a student for shouting in the classroom that he would “shoot up” the room if he did not find a folder he had left behind during an earlier class.  The court ruled that although school officials may prohibit a true threat that is a serious expression of intent to harm others, the dividing line between a true threat and constitutionally protected speech favored the student. No witnesses perceived the statement as a true threat.  In Re: J.W.

— In West Virginia, legislators have proposed a revision to the Education Code that will allow teachers and other school employees to have concealed carry weapons in the classroom.  When approved, the “School Protection Officers” could carry a gun, pepper spray or other allowed protective weapon in school.

— In Colorado, proposed school safety legislation would revise discipline policies to minimize student run-ins with police. Senate Bill 21-182 would require discipline reporting to find and correct racial disparities, modify the school code of conduct to encourage age-appropriate discipline outcomes, and set more stringent rules for the selection of school police officers.

— In California, the majority of students and parents in the Fresno Unified School District want to keep armed police officers on Fresno Unified campuses, according to surveys conducted by the district and Fresno State University.  This represents a significant shift for keeping police in schools.  A majority of the Fresno Unified School District Trustees are also in support of the school resource officer program.

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Safety Law News for March 16, 2021

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— In Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents whose special needs child was placed in handcuffs by a school resource officer.  The court ruled that the parents needed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a civil lawsuit.  The court reasoned that three different federal statutes may come into play when a child with disabilities and his family assert education-based claims of unlawful treatment: the IDEA,; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the ADA.  When the crux of a special needs lawsuit is the failure of school officials to follow a child’s educational program (FAPE) then administrative remedies must be pursued first.  Ahearn v. E. Stroudsburg Area School District.

— In Oregon, officials in the Salem-Keizer School District announced the end of the district’s school resource officer program.  But the district will keep in place a contract with the Keizer Police Department because the school board believes that, “a healthy and safe school system requires relationships with law enforcement particularly to support child abuse investigations, threat assessments, emergency response, and other key functions as long as that relationship with law enforcement is balanced with creating schools where all students feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging.”

— In Nebraska, lawmakers have agreed to expand a successful pilot program that proved the benefits of a hotline where people could anonymously report concerns about students who may be thinking about harming themselves or other people.  The hotline connects people to trained crisis counselors who can offer help and resources immediately. The counselors also alert local threat assessment teams set up in participating school districts.  The legislation is LB322.

— In Texas, legislation has been introduced that would allow concealed guns in public schools.  In what is intended to expand the state’s marshal program, which allows properly trained staff members to carry guns on campus, the legislation would allow licensed adults to carry weapons in public and charter schools.

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Safety Law News for March 8, 2021

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— In North Carolina, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina ruled that the use of profanity, by a parent whose car was being searched by police officers, was insufficient to support a conviction of disorderly conduct on school property and resisting a public officer in violation of state laws.  The search occurred when a dog alerted to the car on campus.  The court held that when a person “merely remonstrates” she does not violate the law absent evidence that her conduct caused a substantial interference with police activities or the operation of the school.  State v. Humphreys.

— In Washington State, the Supreme Court of Washington reversed the dismissal of a wrongful death claim brought on behalf of a student who was killed by a vehicle while on an off-campus walk with his physical education class.  The court ruled that schools have a duty “to anticipate dangers which may reasonably be anticipated, and to then take precautions to protect students from such dangers…[even] where the harm stems from an intervening act of a third person.”Applying this standard, the court ruled that material issues of fact existed concerning whether formal field trip policy applied and was followed, whether parental permission was required, and whether proper safeguards were taken.  Meyers v. Ferndale School District

— In Maine, officials from the Portland School District and the Portland Police Department are hearing from campus employees and parents on how to keep the schools safe after the 2020 decision by the Portland school board to remove school resource officers.

— In Maryland,  Maryland Governor Larry Hogan posted his personal opposition to pending legislation (HB 1089) that if enacted would remove all school resource officers from Maryland campuses.  “Every child deserves to be safe while getting an education. This extreme proposal would make our children less safe as they return to school.”

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Safety Law News for March 2, 2021

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In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of a case brought by a student who was assaulted by a fellow student at the end of a class.  The court ruled that the lower court dismissal was inappropriate because “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.”  In this case, educators had specific notice of the dangerous conduct which caused the injury.  Nizen-Jacobellis v. Lindenhurst Union Free Sch. Dist.

— In Florida, a middle school student was taken into custody for selling stun guns to her classmates. The student admitted selling three Vipertek stun-guns on Amazon.

— In Virginia, officials for the Henrico Schools District are asking the community for input on reforms in their school safety agreement with Henrico Police.  The proposed reforms cover the issues of informing parents before students are questioned or detained by police and improving coordination between school administrators with campus police.

— In Maryland,  the Montgomery County Public Schools are training more than 1400 teachers and staff on how to de-escalate conflicts that arise between students.  The training will emphasize restorative justice philosophy with the goal of diminishing police interventions on campus.

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Safety Law News for February 22, 2021

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In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida rejected a lawsuit brought by parents to prevent “school guardians” from carrying firearms on school campuses.  Florida law requires that every school have “safe school officers,”  using either partnerships with law enforcement agencies or school employees who volunteer to be appointed as “school guardians.” 1006.12, Fla. Stat.  The court found that the plain language of the comprehensive the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act authorizes school guardians to carry concealed firearms on school campuses.  Dozier v. Duval Cty. Sch. Bd.

— In New York, tri-village police chiefs in Fort Plain, St. Johnsville, and Canajoharie have determined that police reforms to improve the perceptions of law enforcement are creating positive change.  Under state law, police departments are required to submit information regarding policy and practice changes to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to qualify for further DCJS funding.  The primary adjustments in the school resource officer programs include training in de-escalation, bias, and curbing the use of force.

— In Iowa, members of the Des Moines School Board say that they support a proposal to remove police officers from schools, but won’t vote to make it so.  Instead, the board will monitor the management of the situation by the school superintendent to develop a replacement for the SRO program. 

— In California,  officials in Los Angeles approved a plan to cut the school district’s police force by a third, eliminating 70 sworn officers and 62 non-sworn officers leaving approximately 200 officers on campuses.  The plan includes a shift of funding to hire more social workers and mental health professionals to handle problems instead.