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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.

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Safety Law News for February 18, 2020

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• In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida held that the school resource officer who was on duty during the campus shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was not immune from the lawsuit filed by parents under a state statute that allows a recovery of damages when an officer acts “in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights or safety.”  (Peterson v. Pollack)

• In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division affirmed a finding of liability against school officials after a student was injured while rehearsing for an upcoming chorus recital when the auditorium stage riser upon which she was walking collapsed.  The court ruled that where the actual or specific cause of an accident is unknown, a jury is permitted to infer from the very happening of the injurious event that the accident was the result of negligence by the school.  (Elsawi v. Saratoga Springs City Sch. Dist)

• In Oregon, the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit ruled that school officials did not violate the rights of straight students by enforcing a school safety policy of allowing transgender students to use restrooms, locker rooms, and showers that matched their gender identity, rather than their biological sex assigned at birth.  The court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy did not apply, that the school policy did not discriminate on basis of sex, and that the Due Process Clause did not provide a fundamental parental right to determine bathroom policies of public schools.  (Parents for Privacy v. Barr)

• In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida reversed the dismissal of a criminal case filed against a student who sent a Snapchat photograph to another student, which depicted a scoped AR-15 rifle with an extended, large capacity magazine and had the caption, “Show and Tell @[the school] on Monday.”   The court ruled that the threshold standard for a “threat,” was conduct “sufficient to cause alarm in reasonable persons.”   Under that standard, the case was remanded back for trial because, “[t]he reasonableness of [the receiving student’s] perception of the post as a threat is a matter for a jury to determine.”  (State v. Cowart)

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Safety Law News for February 14, 2020

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• In Missouri, officials in the Portageville School District are once again teaching students the drug abuse resistance education program known as DARE.  The program is being brought back because officials believe “it builds a bridge between the police and the community.  The information that we teach [students] at DARE they go and share it with their parents.”

• In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Senate approved HB 2336, which would give districts the right to adopt policies that would allow school workers to carry guns.

• In Alabama, officials in Mobile County are responding to concerns that new school discipline policies are not working.  The claim has been made that teachers are quitting their jobs because of unruly students.

• In Georgia,  Fulton County School District officials find themselves on the defensive as parents complain about fights and other disruptions in the schools.  The problems are attributable to the school discipline policies, which parents say are resulting in, “the same kids fighting all the time…the students get suspended, come back to school and fight again.”

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Safety Law News for February 10, 2020

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• In New York, the Lockport City School District is installing facial recognition technology to monitor who’s on the campuses of its schools.  Lockport school officials believe that, “if the technology had been in place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the deadly 2018 attack there may never have happened.”

• In Indiana, the Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey from the Indiana State Department of Health just released its most recent youth tobacco survey, finding that the use of e-cigarettes increased 400 percent among middle and high school students from 2012 to 2019.

• In Maryland,  the parents of four students in the Montgomery County School District have filed lawsuits for injuries received while participating in school sponsored athletics.  The lawsuits point to the hazing ritual that led to sexual assaults.  The parents claim that school officials, “had extensive notice of the abusive and predatory brooming ritual perpetrated by the football players [and] … chose to ignore the danger it posed to the students.”

• In Tennessee, Davidson County officials, including school resource officers, are combating gang activity by implementing the GRIP Program.  The “Gang Resistance and Intervention Program,” is a 9-month program that supervises and counsels children in the Davidson County area.  If gang members end up in the juvenile justice system, they go to GRIP court.

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Safety Law News for February 4, 2020

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• In Kentucky, the Daviess County Public Schools have filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs.  The school district claims that large numbers of students across the county became addicted to nicotine because of a coordinated effort by Juul to advertise directly to the children.  Several other school districts will join in the suit.

• In Ohio, educators and law enforcement officials in Stark County are utilizing the new MILO Range Pro Single Screen simulator to realistically prepare for a wide range of scenarios.  The technology teaches how to deescalate a situation as well as how to respond to an active shooter.

• In Kansas, officials in Unified School District 497 are receiving regular advice and counsel from a student advisory council. Made up of 19 students from Free State High School and Lawrence High School, the Lawrence School Board gives their thoughts on school resource officers, school safety and security, and other topics.

• In Virginia, the schools in Amherst County are receiving new doors to enhance classroom security. The new doors are fire-rated.  Each teacher will have a unique key for their classroom and doors will be locked from the inside.

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Safety Law News for January 31, 2020

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• In New Mexico, House Bill 184 has been introduced imposing mandatory training requirements on school resource officers.  It would require SROs to get more extensive training on crisis management, how to respond to students with mental and behavioral issues, and how to mentor students. It would also provide funding for equipment.

• In Pennsylvania, parents in the Saucon Valley School District are pressing the members of the board and administrators to explain their refusal to hire a resource officer.  The parents appear to be concerned about response times; the Lower Saucon Township Police Department, whose headquarters are several minutes’ drive from the district campus, is the current closest law enforcement agency.

• In Wyoming, the Campbell County School Board, after months of consideration from the community, will soon allow staff to carry guns in schools.  The new policy will go into effect only at six schools outside of the city limits. The reasoning behind the policy is to eliminate the exposure of these campuses to harm given the long law enforcement response times.

• In Washington State, the Wenatchee School District is making changes to its dress code after discussions with school resource officers about clothing and attire that is incompatible with a safe school environment.  The changes were approved by a committee comprised of board members, high school students, campus administrators and one central office employee.