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Safety Law News for June 28, 2021

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— The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a school violated a student’s First Amendment rights when it suspended her from the cheerleading squad.  The school discipline was in response to the student’s use of profanity in a social media post, made off campus and on a Saturday.  The Court held that while in loco parentis gives schools authority to regulate student speech that takes place off campus, the incident did not fall within this authority.  The student did not identify the school, the criticism of cheerleading did not target any member of the school community and did not cause a “substantial disruption” at school. Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L. by & through Levy

— In Virginia, the Arlington Public School Board unanimously voted to remove police officers from its school hallways.  The police will respond to emergencies but no longer will have officers stationed at the school.  The school board does not have the authority to completely shut down the program. The county of Arlington provides the program with $3 million in annual funding.

— In Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that school districts must provide police-level training to teachers carrying concealed weapons such that prior training school employees received may violate state law.  The approved training must resemble basic peace-officer-training or the school official must have served 20 years as a police officer.  Gabbard v. Madison Local School District

— In Tennessee, the Knox County Schools and the City of Knoxville are changing the role of school resource officers when campus incidents involve special needs students.  Under the new policy, the officer will not get involved without authorization by the school principal or when an incident places others in imminent danger.

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Safety Law News for June 22, 2021

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— In Connecticut, the Superior Court of Connecticut, rejected qualified immunity for a school district in a lawsuit brought by a student who was assaulted by a fellow student and seriously injured.  The court ruled that immunity did not apply to failures to act that subject students to imminent harm.  The immunity analysis has three elements: 1) an imminent harm; (2) an identifiable victim; and (3) a public official to whom it is apparent that his or her conduct is likely to subject that victim to that harm.  Connecticut General Statutes § 52–557n.  The court found that the known violent history of the student “could lead a jury to conclude that the assailant was an “imminent risk” to the students in his classroom,” which eliminates immunity for the school.  Keegan Allister v. Michael Labombard No. CV196053097, 2021 WL 2300489 (Conn. Super. Ct. May 6, 2021)

— In Texas, Senate Bill 168 was signed into law to change the manner in which schools conduct active shooter drills.  Its provisions require schools to customize the drills in collaboration with education, law enforcement, and mental health professionals.  Schools must make allowance for the age of the student body and provide advance notice of active shooter drills.

— In Illinois, school officials in Norwood Park are implementing their Whole School Safety Plan.  The policy retains the school resource officer program while hiring additional social workers.  The Board believes that the officers and social workers will make the school community feel safe and welcomed.

— In California, the Fresno County Schools has selected “Everbridge School Safety Software” to coordinate emergency management efforts on K-12 campuses.  The software enables school administrators to orchestrate a collaborative approach for crisis incidents including campus violence such as active shooters and bomb threats, as well as lockdowns and medical emergencies.

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Safety Law News for June 7, 2021

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— In Wisconsin, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin ruled that the “reasonableness, under all the circumstances” standard set forth in New Jersey v. T.L.O., (469 U.S. 325 (1985)), applies to the search of a non-student’s vehicle located on school grounds.  The court agreed that ordinarily police are constrained to search a vehicle unless there is probable cause to believe it contains evidence of criminal activity.  Even so, the court found that the T.L.O. standard applies, “regardless of that person’s status as a student or non-student, at least when the subject of a search is reasonably believed to pose a threat to school safety.”  State v. Vang

— In Congress, H.R.4606 has been introduced to help protect students and faculty in schools.  The Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert Act, will require that all schools install silent panic alarms in all schools to immediately alert law enforcement of an active shooter situation.  Other provisions of the legislation addresses the training of School Resource Officers.

— In North Carolina, the Wake County Public School System is seeking community feedback on its revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) with local law enforcement agencies.  The proposed agreement clarifies when law enforcement can intervene in cases of student misconduct and outlines increased communication with law enforcement and the community.  The draft agreement spells out five levels of student misconduct, followed by an explanation of which incidents require school resource officer intervention.

— In Illinois, Safe2Help Illinois — developed by the state’s emergency management department, terrorism task force and board of education, will begin in schools in Fall 2021.  The $1 million program will give children a confidential method of reporting information on bullying, suicidal emotions, and campus violence. The information submitted will be shared with officials at the relevant school district, mental health professionals or local law enforcement

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Safety Law News for May 28, 2021

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In North Carolina, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina ruled that a 13-year-old student was in custody and therefore entitled to Miranda warnings prior to being interrogated by a school principal accompanied by a school resource officer who remained silent.  The court reasoned that North Carolina law provided greater protections for juveniles from interrogation.  The court held that the proper test for determining custody is whether “the presence of the officer can create a coercive environment that goes above and beyond the restrictions normally imposed during school, such that a [13-year-old] student would readily believe they are not free to go.”  Matter of D.A.H.

— In Tennessee, school officials in Shelby County Schools are addressing the issues to increase teacher retention.  Over 50% of its teachers have left the profession.  Several of the root causes of the trend involve school safety, enforcement of discipline, consistent administrative support, and high-quality professional development.

— In Congress, legislation has been introduced to examine the mental health effects of active shooter drills, lockdown drills, and other firearm violence prevention activities in schools on school staff and students.  The goal of the “School Safety Drill Research Act of 2021” is to provide data to help schools balance school preparedness with the mental health of students and staff.

— In Michigan, officials in the Mason Public Schools are partnering with the Mason Fire Department to conduct rescue drills involving school buses.  The training focuses on school bus extraction scenarios to make the rescuers “familiar with the construction of school busses and busses in general and hopefully develop skills and get [firemen] comfortable so [they are] not learning at the real scene.”

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Safety Law News for May 24, 2021

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— 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.”

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Safety Law News for May 18, 2021

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— 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.