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Safety Law News for October 7th, 2020

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— In Illinois, a survey from the community of parents, students, and school staff at the Waukegan Community Unit School District notes that a majority of students, parents, and staff prefer to keep the school resource officer program.  Among students, 50.8 percent want the officers to remain, 17.5 percent want them removed, and 31.7 percent were undecided.  72.5 percent of the parents and 67.5 percent of the staff want the officers to remain on campus.

— In Virginia, the United States District Court held that parents successfully pled a
Due Process “danger creation” claim against school officials whose inaction led to the assault of their child.  The injuries were inflicted by student athletes who were unsupervised in the football team locker room.  The court held that educators violated the student’s Substantive Due Process right to bodily integrity and “increased the risk of private danger” by failing to have supervision in the locker room after assuring parents that supervision would occur following a similar incident.  DJ v. School Board of Henrico County

— In Nebraska, the City of Lincoln and the Lincoln Public Schools have renewed their school resource officer program.  The program provides for 12 school resource officers and a threat assessment officer as part of a “Safe and Successful Kids” interlocal agreement.  The provisions of the agreement include revisions and constraints on the role of the officers in response to parental concerns.

— In North Carolina, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved the continuation of the school resource officers program for its middle and high schools.  The program employs 26 officers.  The school board intends to revise the role of the officers from one of policing students to providing safe and secure campuses.

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Safety Law News for October 2nd, 2020

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In Ohio, the United States District Court upheld the policy of a school district to interrupt speakers at school board meetings that were “personally directed,” “antagonistic” or “abusive.”  The court ruled that school board meetings were a limited public forum for discussion of subjects relating to the operation of the schools.  The school policy was reasonable in light of the purpose served by school board meetings.  [Billy Ison v. Madison Local School Board]

— In Missouri, the Willard R-II School District is taking steps to create its own police department.  School officials believe that replacing officers from the Springfield Police Department will also allow their internal officers to be specifically trained on school policy and understand student life a little better.

— In Indiana, the Muncie Community Schools have been awarded $600,000 in state and federal grants to upgrade security.  The grant will fund the a campus video surveillance system of 482 new cameras to be installed throughout school facilities.

— In Nebraska, school resource officers for the Omaha Public Schools are learning “How To Speak Gen Z,” as a critical part of their de-escalation training.  The goal is to improve communication with students as a means to avoid conflict and use of force in schools.

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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.