Uncategorized

Safety Law News for May 24, 2021

by  • 

— In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a third-grade student who was injured when a classmate threw a chair which hit her in the neck.  The court noted that a school “has a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect a pupil from harm,” but an injured student must show a breach of that duty “proximately caused the injury.” Because the facts showed that the teacher was outside the classroom talking to another teacher, “the question for the factfinder is whether she could have done more to protect [the student].”  Hodge v. Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners

— In Indiana, the Monroe County Community School Board voted to approve a policy change to disarm its school resource officers.  The board believes that eliminating carry permissions for SROs while on school property will give students greater comfort.

— In California, school officials in the Fremont Unified School District reversed its decision to eliminate the School Resource Officer Program.  It voted to fully reinstate and fund the program.  The reversal is in response to parents who disagreed with the prior decision, making it clear to the school board that police officers on campus make them feel their kids are safe.

— In Texas, qualified immunity for school safety officers is being proposed by the legislature.  HB 1788 would give immunity to any school, as well as school safety personnel, for “reasonable action taken by the security personnel to maintain the safety of the school campus, including action relating to possession or use of a firearm.”

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for May 18, 2021

by  • 

— In Missouri, the United States Court of Appeals dismissed the claims of two high school students who were detained and questioned off-campus by outside police officers at a summer camp.  The court held that the incident, involving the investigation of a claim of window peeking at a high school football camp, violated no clearly established constitutional rights.  The court observed that the Fourth Amendment case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., “left open whether the reasonableness test should apply to actions conducted by school officials in conjunction with or at the behest of law enforcement agencies.”  Even so, after applying lower court cases that apply a reasonableness standard where both school officials and law enforcement officers collaborate, the court held that “it was reasonable for [the officers] to believe that a seizure of high school students by a high school coach acting at the behest of the officers was permissible.”  T.S.H. v. Green

— In Kentucky, the Carroll County School Resource Officers Program met or exceeded all categories in a surprise evaluation from state auditors.  As a result, the program, which is the only one in the state that has a different SRO stationed at each school building, will be used as a model for others.

— In Florida, the Citrus County School Board voted to buy a mobile panic alarm system, CrisisAlert, fulfilling a state mandate to help authorities better locate and respond to school emergencies.  State law requires every public and charter school to have a mobile panic alarm system.  The district will pay $550,700 to install the system at 23 campuses by the 2021-22 school year.

— In Florida, the revised school resource officer agreement between the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Schools will deny SROs access to student data, including grades, attendance, and discipline history.  The officers will no longer have access to the school district’s Early Warning System, which designates which students are considered at-risk.

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for May 10, 2021

by  • 

— In Wisconsin, the United States District Court upheld the dress code of two schools that disciplined students for wearing shirts bearing images of guns while attending school.  One shirt bore the image of a revolver with the words, “Smith & Wesson Firearms – Made in the USA Since 1852.” The other shirt bore the words “I’m a patriot” and “Weapons are part of my religion.” The court held that, “the constitutional rights of students in public school are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings…and must be applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.”  The court ruled that the school rules were viewpoint neutral and reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns in a closed forum.  N.J. by Jacob v. Sonnabend.

— In Virginia, the Alexandria City Council voted to terminate its School Resource Officer Program and reallocate funding to mental health resources.  None of this can occur until a plan is implemented to keep campuses safe.  The school district is working with the police department to structure a new agreement.

— In California, the Fresno Unified School Board is considering the renewal of its agreement with the Fresno Police.   As community activists urge the removal of police, the surveys from parents, students, and educators continue to support the presence of police in schools.  “Students said they ‘overwhelmingly’ would feel unsafe if police officers were removed from campuses.”  “Administrators were strongest in their support of keeping student resource officers on campus; staff and parents also expressed support for the SROs, but also pointed to problems that need addressing and areas of improvement, such as more training for cultural awareness.”

— In New York, parents in New York City gathered to publicly protest the absence of police on campus after a student was killed in a campus shooting.  The city has promised to deploy police to the schools by June 2022. 

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for April 27, 2021

by  • 

— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division denied the school’s motion for summary judgment in a case involving the sexual assault of a student by a fellow student.  The court ruled that “schools have a duty to adequately supervise their students and are liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.”  By the school’s own testimony, there were “numerous instances” of failing to lock classroom doors, of allowing students to be alone in classrooms, as well as prior knowledge of incidents involving the assaulting student.  Doe v. Bronx Preparatory Charter School

— In California, a committee in the Berkeley Unified School District – made up of students, administrators, parents and other community members – recommended that the district expand the role of the SRO to include more mentorship responsibilities and consider adding additional hours to the role or a second SRO. Several committee members said they had not expected to expand the SRO’s responsibilities, but came to believe that the SRO has a positive impact at Berkeley schools.  In a survey of students and staff, no teachers and fewer than 6% of students found the SRO “hostile or mistrustful of kids.” The majority of people surveyed supported the SRO position, including 72% of Black students, 73% of Latino students, 77% of Asian students, and 62% of white students.

— In Texas, Senate Bill 534 has been introduced to create a version of qualified immunity for schools when they respond to protect students.  The legislation declares that a school district, charter school, or private school “is immune from liability for any damages resulting from any reasonable action taken by security personnel to maintain the safety of the school campus, including possession or use of a firearm.”  The Texas House of Representative has already passed its version of the policy in House Bill 1788.

— In Oklahoma, the Senate is considering a proposal to arm non-sworn school personnel.  House Bill 2588 would let local school boards decide if they wanted their school staff to be armed.  Currently, only security guards and school police officers have this authority.  The House of Representatives has approved the legislation.

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for April 23, 2021

by  • 

— In North Carolina, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina ruled that a student is entitled to Miranda warnings prior to being interrogated by his school principal when the school resource officer (SRO) is present but does not ask questions.  Days prior to the questioning by the administrator, the student was questioned by the SRO after a school bus driver confiscated drugs from the student.  The court ruled that the subsequent questioning, in which the student again confessed to buying the drugs from a fellow student, required Miranda warnings based on the “enhanced protections” of Miranda and state law.  Matter of D.A.H.

— In Florida, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a school safety bill to address the issues revealed in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  House Bill 7035 will require schools to develop plans to quickly notify parents if a school is suddenly shut down or evacuated during an emergency.  The bill also would require schools to develop a reunification plan for parents and students during an emergency and make it easier for schools to contract for mental health services.

— In Arizona, the Arizona Superintendent of Education is earmarking $21.3 million for schools to hire new counselors and social workers.  The funding will cover the salaries of 71 new counselors and 69 social workers in district and charter schools.

— In Minnesota, officials for the Minneapolis Public Schools are implementing their revised school safety program after the removal of sworn police officers.  Before removing the officers from the Minneapolis Police Department there were 14 officers deployed to the city schools.  Now 13 “civilian safety specialists,” some of whom had been on staff previously and all of whom have prior law enforcement experience patrol the schools.  The new personnel are not armed, do not carry handcuffs or pepper spray, are not uniformed, and have no power of arrest.

Uncategorized

Safety Law News for April 19, 2021

by  • 

— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, held that school officials were not negligent in supervising students when a fourth-grade elementary school student was injured.  The injury occurred during a lunch recess when a fellow student ran up to him from behind and pushed him, causing him to fall.  The court affirmed the rule that “[s]chools 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.”  Even so, the court ruled that the incident occurred in such a short span of time that the most intense supervision could not have prevented it.  I.S. v. Hempstead Union Free School District

— In New York, the legislature has introduced a policy that would require silent alarms to be installed in every public school in New York.  Senate Bill S6237 would equip schools with panic alarms for use in an active-shooter situation with the goal of reducing the response time of emergency services and providing a covert method of contacting authorities.  The alarm can be triggered remotely and discreetly via smartphone.

— In Pennsylvania, the School District of Philadelphia is implementing a program to partner district school safety officers with African American students at each school.  Both male and female students will be assigned to mentors.  The program is designed to help support the needs of the students through positive engagement with the officers.

— In Virginia, the Albemarle County Public Schools plan to spend $4 million dollars to upgrade and improve school security systems.  The safety package includes a buzz-in camera system at the front entrance of each school as well as an electronic access badge system.  The system will be programmed to keep a log of persons who enter buildings and will allow administrators to change access privileges.