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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.

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Safety Law News for February 15, 2021

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In Georgia, the United States District Court dismissed a discrimination lawsuit brought by a student who, after being suspended for fighting in school, was handcuffed and restrained by a school resource officer after refusing to remain in the administrative office until he could be escorted to where his parents would pick him up.  The court ruled that the allegations of discrimination based on the claim that school discipline policy targeted black students were invalid in the absence of proof that “similarly situated individuals of a different race” were treated differently.  The court ruled that no policies of the school or the school police department encouraged officials to discipline African American students in a discriminatory manner. B.T. by & through Jackson v. Battle

— In Vermont, legislators have introduced competing proposals regarding police in schools.  Senate Bill 76 is designed to expand school resource officer programs by funding $1 million each year for the next four years to encourage schools to acquire one or more police officers.  Senate Bill 63 would ban the use of school resource officers entirely.

— In Kentucky, the Daviess County Public Schools created its own police department to handle security at the schools.  But school officials have decided to withhold student information from its officers.  Officers will have access to only a student’s personally identifiable information, such as date of birth and address.  The school district has not disclosed the basis for this policy.  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.  But none of its provisions constrain the sharing of the information that would allow school police to perform more efficiently their duties.  KRS §158.154 and 158.155 and 158.156 require school administrators to report crimes to police, providing names, addresses, ages, nature and extent of the incident, and “[a]ny other information that the principal making the report believes may be helpful.”

— In the U.S. Congress, Congressman Josh Gottheimer has introduced bipartisan legislation that will require silent panic alarms in all schools to immediately alert law enforcement of an active shooter situation.  The “Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert Act” (ALYSSA Act), memorializes Alyssa Alhadeff, who lost her life in the campus shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.

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Safety Law News for February 11, 2021

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— In Wisconsin, the United States District Court ruled that a school staff member is not entitled to qualified immunity for the use of excessive force against a student.  In denying the motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by parents of the student who was forcibly removed from the classroom, the court held that “[i]t is well established that a school administrator or teacher cannot use excessive force against a student.”  The court noted that “although the undisputed facts show that defendant’s initial decision to seize plaintiff and remove her from the classroom was reasonable,… [the student’s] allegations of punching, hitting and slamming her to the ground create a genuine issue of material fact.”  Price v. Mueller-Owens

— In Maryland, officials in Prince George’s County have revised the role of school police based on recommendations from the county task force. While school resource officers will remain in schools, the other security team, called school security personnel will no longer have arresting powers.  Data from the last two school years shows that most arrests were made by school security personnel. Specifically, they made 88% of the arrests in both school years, while SROs made only 12% of arrests.

— In Minnesota, the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage District 191 School Board plans to renew its school resource officer program while the communities surrounding it (Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts) dismantle their programs.  Begun in the late 1980s, the District 191 program provides its officers training in use-of-force, de-escalation, and speaking with juveniles (anti-bias) training.

— In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is telling its members not to report to school over the safety of school buildings.  The City has appointed a neutral arbitrator to resolve the dispute.