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Safety Law News for September 29, 2020

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In Massachusetts, the United States District Court upheld the right of school officials to discipline a group of students for bullying a classmate on the SnapChat Internet application.  The court held that “one of the legal responsibilities of a school is to protect students from bullying.”  In so doing, the court rejected the argument of the bullies that the Tinker v. Des Moines Schools standard protected their speech: “[t]here is no constitutional right to be a bully … Schools are generally permitted to step in and protect students from abuse.”  [Doe by & through Doe v. Hopkinton Pub. School]

— In Washington State, the Edmonds School District is replacing their school resource officer program with a version of the “liaison officer model.”  The plan is for the Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mountlake Terrace police departments to daily assign a duty officer on patrol to be responsible for having a school be part of their beat.

— In Illinois, the Champaign Community Unit School District No. 4, with over 10,000 students and 19 campuses, did not report any arrests of students to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for the years 2013 thru 2018.  But the actual data show that four students were arrested during the 2013-14 school year, 17 students were arrested during the 2015-16 school year.  A Freedom of Information Act request also showed that the Urbana District 116 provided arrest and referral data. However, the information provided does not match what the district reported to the federal government.

— In Ohio, 17 schools from 11 counties are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to allow them to continue arming non-law enforcement employees as an option for student safety.  The schools are asking for the court to reverse an appeals court decision that said state law did not allow boards of education to allow armed personnel without training on the same level as police and security officers.  (Gabbard v. Madison Local School District)

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Safety Law News for September 24, 2020

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In New York, the Supreme Court of New York, refused to dismiss a case brought by parents of a student who was injured during a recurring game in which students punched each other’s genitals but were never punished by educators.  The court stated that schools have a duty to supervise students and will be held liable for foreseeable injuries when educators have knowledge or notice of the conduct which caused the injury.  The court noted that the school admitted knowledge of the game and admitted that students were never disciplined.  (Doe by & through Doe v. City of New York)

— In Minnesota, the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board has decided to continue using school resource officers.  The District stated that, “[w]e have heard multiple perspectives on the role of SROs in schools. We have also analyzed the data from our most recent Minnesota student survey, which showed positive support from students around our SROs.”

— In California, the San Rafael Board of Education voted unanimously to discontinue its school resource officer program and remove officers from district campuses.  The Board President stated that,  “We heard from many of our students and our community members who spoke passionately that having SROs in our schools is not what is best for students.”

— In New York, officials in the Jamesville-DeWitt School District renewed the school resource officer program through 2020.  The District stated that, “[t]he school resource officer is a key piece to our entire approach to safety, not only here at the high school but through the entire district.”

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Safety Law News for September 17th, 2020

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In North Carolina, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a case brought by an injured student against school officials who knew that older students were abusing younger students, but nevertheless allowed them to interact on a regular basis.  The court held that school officials would be liable for failing to act in ways “reasonably calculated to end the harassment,” if they knew about the abuse yet no victims were interviewed, no parents were notified, and no perpetrators were seriously evaluated or disciplined. [Woods v. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board of Education]

— In Wisconsin, school resource officers in the Rapids School District are prohibited from going “hands-on” with students for disciplinary or property damage purposes.  Under the new policies, physical intervention is still allowed to protect students from themselves or others, or in situations where behavior has turned criminal. But if school administrators aren’t allowed to lay their hands on a child to stop property damage or noncriminal bad behavior they can’t ask an officer to do it for them.

— In Nebraska, the Safe and Successful Kids interlocal agreement between the city and Lincoln Public Schools approved its budget, including continued funding for the school resource officer program.

— In North Carolina, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved $2.5 million in contracts with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and Kernersville Police Department to continue providing school resource officers to local middle and high schools.

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Safety Law News for September 14, 2020

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In Texas, the United States District Court held that a special needs student who was injured on a school sponsored field trip could not bring a claim under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The court held that federal courts were courts of limited jurisdiction such that a “plaintiff bringing suit under the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, or similar laws must in certain circumstances–that is, when ‘seeking relief that is also available under’ the IDEA–first exhaust the IDEA’s administrative procedures.” [J.V. v. Brownsville Independent School District]

— In Maryland, the Howard County Board Of Education voted against removing its school resource officers.  All 12 public high schools have officers, while six officers split time between 12 middle schools.

— In Virginia, the school district in Henrico County has decided to increase the presence of SROs to help further connect them with students.  The officers are taking on more virtual responsibilities to increase positive interactions with students.  The Henrico County School Board Chair explained that, “We look at our officers, our SRO’s, as partners.”  The officers are co-teaching online classes.

— In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department and the Wisconsin Rapids School District will implement new policies regarding the role officers play in schools.  Under the new rules officers will not be used in matters of school discipline unless a student is a threat to themselves or others.

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Safety Law News for September 8th, 2020

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— In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida affirmed the ruling of the lower court that the school resource officer on duty during the campus shooting at Parkland High School was not entitled to immunity.  The court ruled that Florida law applies immunity for job-related negligence, “unless such officer, employee, or agent acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.” Florida Statutes Section 768.28(9)(a).  The lower court found that the officer acted with conscious and intentional indifference to the consequences of failing to do his duty. [Medina v. Pollack]

— In Virginia, the Arlington County School Board is considering whether to end its practice of having police officers in schools in the Virginia county.  Its local surveys show that most students, and a majority of staff feel safe with school resource officers on school grounds.  A committee is being formed to review all concerns, “look at practices, and possibly reinvent our partnership with police.”

— In Minnesota, the Hopkins School Board voted to remove police officers from Hopkins High School after hearing from nearly 1,200 students, staff, parents and community members regarding the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25.

— In Maryland, Montgomery County’s executive and police chief have different views on keeping police officers in the schools.  The police chief believes that officers ensure safety for students consistent with the provisions of the Maryland Safe to Learn Act and maintain relationships with students, teachers, administrators and the staff.  The county executive believes that officers are a “sad use of resources,” and that the money should be spent on school psychologists and social workers.

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Safety Law News for September 4th, 2020

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— In Arizona, the Court of Appeals of Arizona refused to dismiss a gross negligence case arising out of an off-campus shooting in which two students were killed.  Applying Arizona law that removed foreseeability from the duty framework, the court held that “a school unquestionably has a duty to address situations of which school officials become aware in dealing with students.”  The court held that in the context of the shooter’s known history of violence a jury could conclude that educators should have taken some action to protect the threatened student.  [Dinsmoor v. City of Phoenix]

— In New York,  the Plattsburgh City Council is in a dispute with the Plattsburgh City School District over the school resource officers program.  The Council unanimously voted to not renew the SRO contracts, but school officials pay 100% of the program costs and wish to continue using the officers to patrol the schools.

— In Massachusetts, the Everett Teachers Association (ETA) issued a statement in support of the use of school resource officers in their schools – thus breaking away from opposite positions made public by the American Federation of Teachers and the Boston Teachers Union.

— In Georgia, officers from the Troup County Sheriff’s Office who are assigned to the schools will begin wearing body-worn cameras.  The Sheriff issued a statement that, “[i]n this day and age of law enforcement transparency, I believe the issuing of these body cams to my SRO’s will be an asset to not only my agency but also the Troup County School System with whom we have a great partnership with.”