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Safety Law News for March 16, 2020

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• In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court, refused to dismiss a case brought by parents of a student who was sexually assaulted by a teacher.  The parent suit alleges that the failure to report child abuse, the failure to intervene, and the failure to properly train school personnel violated the rights of the student under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972.  The court agreed that enough facts exist on which liability might be based.  (Doe v. Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County)

• In Oklahoma, administrators with the Edmond Public School District said the number one problem on campus is vaping and the problems that come with it.

• In Virginia, Senate Bill 3 has been passed by the legislature.  The bill prevents students from being charged with disorderly conduct if they misbehave at school or on the school bus.  Until now, disorderly conduct is a Class I misdemeanor under Virginia law, punishable with up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. The Governor must sign the bill to become law.

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Safety Law News for March 11, 2020

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• In California, state officials are acknowledging that the 30-year drop in juvenile arrests is making it necessary to lower funding for juvenile halls and camps that are no longer needed.  In California, the number of juvenile arrests dropped even as the population grew. Youth arrests for violent felonies in the state dropped 68 percent — from 22,601 in 1994 to 7,291 in 2017.  Arrests for homicides dropped 83 percent — from 382 in 1995 to 63 in 2017.  A Report by the U.S. Department of Justice confirms a similar national trend.

• In Florida, officials in Orange County will fund an additional $1.9 million to hire more school resource officers.  This will bring the total number to 155 SROs deployed to 121 schools.  The decision is in response to a 2019 state law that requires the “bell-to-bell” presence of an armed law enforcement officer on every campus.

• In Wyoming, officials in Wyoming County Schools are introducing Prevention Resource Officers into their high schools.  The officers provide education, safety and support for students, and are available to help them with any problems or conflicts.

• In Virginia, House Bills 1493 and 1495 are being debated by the legislature.  If enacted, retired law enforcement officers will be allowed to continue to receive vested service retirement allowances during a subsequent period of employment as a school resource officer or school security officer.

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Safety Law News for March 9, 2020

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• In Massachusetts, the Monomoy Regional School District and Harwich Police Department are looking for donations to fund the purchase and training of a K-9 to detect THC and nicotine products used by students who vape.  The plan is for the dog to spend most of its time in the high school as the K-9 partner to the school resource officer.

• In Missouri, the Callaway County Commission agreed to renew their school resource officer contracts with three county school districts.  School officials are providing evidence that the officers are building positive, trusting relationships with students and positive responses from parents of the school districts.

• In North Carolina, a report issued by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction reports a slight increase in crime in schools in 2018-19 compared to the previous year. There were 20 incidents of assaults on school personnel in 2018-19, up from 16 incidents in 2017-18.  (Annual Report on School Discipline, Crime and Dropout)

• In New Mexico, the governor signed into law House Bill 184.  The provisions of the law create funding for the training of school resource officers, including instruction on de-escalation techniques and adolescent-specific issues.  All officers must receive training within twelve months of being deployed to schools.

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Safety Law News for February 28, 2020

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• In Connecticut, the Supreme Court of Connecticut upheld a liability verdict against educators for the failure to properly supervise students.  An elementary school student was assaulted by other students while they were on the playground during the lunchtime recess.  The court ruled that persons who were assigned to monitor the students on the playground during recess were not properly trained.  The court also held that one student intern and three or four staff members were not enough to exercise control over as many as 400 students on the playground. (Osborn v. City of Waterbury)

• In Pennsylvania, hundreds of parents in the Pine-Richland School District have signed a petition demanding armed school resource officers as a means to improve the safety and security of the schools.

• In Indiana, the legislature is considering the creation of a School Resource Officer Report that will mandate school corporations and charter schools to annually report on the presence of school resource officers to the Department of Homeland Security.

• In Rhode Island, the Providence City Council has sent a resolution to the Rhode Island Department of Education requesting the replacement of its school resource officers with school counselors.  The Governor has also asked the legislature to put aside SRO funding for mental health staff in her 2021 budget proposal.

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Safety Law News for February 24, 2020

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• In Kentucky, the Governor signed into law the school safety bill that will require school resource officers to be armed.  The law goes into effect immediately.  (Senate Bill 8)

• In New Jersey, the United States District Court refused to dismiss an excessive force lawsuit against a  “Class III” school resource officer whose conduct toward elementary school students caused him to be taken off duty.  “Class III” school resource officers are previously retired law enforcement officers who are rehired to provide security in the schools.  The officer received a waiver allowing him to bypass basic training prior to being assigned to the school.  The parent’s claims alleging failure to train and failure to supervise were dismissed because of improper pleading. (Terranova v. Borough of Hasbrouck Heights)

• In Virginia, the United States District Court, refused to dismiss a case brought against a school resource officer accused of excessive force while lawfully seizing a cell phone from a student accused of posting nude pictures.  The court ruled that a jury should determine whether the force was reasonable.  The court also refused to grant immunity to the officer because the right of a middle school student posing no imminent risk of harm to be free from excessive force was clearly established before the incident occurred.  (Z.F. by Next Friend Fleming v. Adkins)

• In Indiana, officials at Mishawaka High School are implementing a policy to issue tickets to students caught vaping at least twice. The citations come with a $145 court fine and other legal consequences similar to traffic tickets.

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Safety Law News for February 20, 2020

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In Washington State, the Court of Appeals of Washington affirmed the adjudication of a student for a fourth degree assault charge, when she struck in the face several times another student with a backpack.  The appellate court agreed with the juvenile court’s rejection of the student’s self-defense claim because the force used in retaliation “was more than was necessary.” State of Washington v. V.A.M.

In Washington State, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a parent who argued that a school policy limiting his communications with school district employees was a violation of his First Amendment rights. The appellate court ruled that the policy was a reasonable, content neutral, and viewpoint neutral effort to manage the father’s relentless and unproductive communications with school officials.  L. F. v. Lake Washington Sch. Dist. #414. 

• In Georgia, school resource officers from the Floyd County Schools and Rome City Schools have formed the School Resource Officer Consortium.  The purpose of the collaboration is to learn from each other as they serve both school systems.

• In Ohio, the mayor for the City of Warren, along with a school resource officer are implementing an outreach program with students whereby a student is acknowledged for good behavior and sworn in as honorary police officer.  A second-grader received the first award before a student assembly.