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Safety Law News for January 15, 2020

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• In Kentucky, the legislature has introduced a bill that would require school resource officers in Kentucky to carry guns.  Senate Bill 8 would require that all schools have at least one armed SRO and one mental health counselor for every 250 students.  The bill would also order the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training to create an active shooter training video.

• In Florida, the legislature has introduced House Bill 1083 that would require school resource officers to go through additional mental health and de-escalation training, focused specifically on juveniles.

• In Kansas, the Wichita Schools Board of Education is joining the Valley Center School District, the Goddard School District, and the Olathe School District to pursue legal action against e-cigarette makers to combat against students’ use of e-cigarettes.

• In New York, the Willsboro Central School District is installing Stop-Arm cameras on all of its school buses.  Under a new law, cars illegally passing a bus when the Stop-Arm and flashing red lights are deployed will be caught on video and fined.

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Safety Law News for January 10, 2020

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• In Ohio, the Wooster City School District is collaborating with the Wooster Police Department to place its officers on district school buses. The goal of the new policy is to provide personal, positive interactions with students and enhance the safety/security of school buses.

• In Tennessee, officials in the Germantown Municipal School District are implementing a canine program at the Houston High School.  Dogs trained to sniff for drugs, pills, alcohol, and firearms will do random, unannounced inspections at the school.

• In Texas, the Round Rock Independent School District, after failing to negotiate a renewal of its agreement with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, is creating its own police force.  The sheriff’s reluctance to renew with the school district was the fear that recruiting and training officers for the job would be time-consuming and would strain county staff, particularly if other county school districts began seeking similar agreements for school resource officers.

• In Florida, a statewide grand jury has issued a report painting a dire picture of how Florida school districts are implementing security measures passed in response to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The grand jury concluded that “any law the Legislature writes addressing school safety, statistical reporting or harm mitigation is meaningless unless someone is given a mandate to ensure compliance.”

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Safety Law News for December 10, 2019

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• In Indiana, school resource officers in Hancock County are giving tickets to students caught vaping. The fine is more than $130 and school administrators notify parents of the incident. School officials hope the policy will discourage students.

• In Georgia, officials in Marietta are creating two new positions called School Gang Officers (SGOs) in the Marietta Police Department to “prevent and combat gang activity” in the Marietta city schools.  The positions will be funded by the City of Marietta, the Marietta City School System (MCS) and the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS).

• In Louisiana, the Lafayette Parish School System and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office are launching an initiative to combat an increase in students directing threats at local schools.  School resource officers will teach a series of classes on the crime of terrorizing, what one can and cannot say that qualifies as terrorizing, and tips for safe social media use.  The goals is to help students understand that particular behaviors result in serious and harsh consequences.”

• Nationally, the National Council for Behavioral Health-Mental Aid First Aid USA is expanding its eight-hour Mental Health First Aid course.  The training, first developed in Australia in 2001, is offered by universities, school districts, public safety departments, and public health agencies, usually for free or a nominal fee.  It trains first responders, educators, school resource officers, mental health professionals and lay people on how to tell if somebody is experiencing a mental health crisis, and what steps can be taken to help.

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Safety Law News for December 3, 2019

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• In Wisconsin, school-based law enforcement officers are being trained to take immediate action to neutralize acts of school violence.  “Running toward the disturbance,” is the dominant theme of appropriate training nationwide.  This is what occurred in a recent incident at Waukesha South High School, preventing the student shooter from harming others.

• In Arizona, officials in Mesa are proposing a law that will place restrictions on vaping in public places.  Similar laws are already in place in the cities of Tempe, Tucson and Flagstaff.   The superintendents of the school districts serving Mesa are in favor of the law to help them fight the vaping epidemic among teenagers.

• In Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a school resource officer did not use excessive force when breaking up a fight between students.  The court noted that the rules on excessive force “depend very much on the facts of each case.”  In this case, the court ruled that placing a student in a choke hold and carrying her to the office while the student was “squirming, wiggling, twisting, and turning to get away,” did not fall on the unconstitutional side of the line.  (Hines v. Jefferson)

• In Virginia, officials in Clarke County’s four public schools are making available naloxone at each of Clarke County’s four public schools in case a student or visitor ever needs it.

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Safety Law News for November 26, 2019

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• In Illinois, the Urbana City Council approved a resolution to increase the presence of school resource officers.  Previously, the school board approved new safety measures with the city to have a full-time officer at the middle school and high school.  The change is in response to a fight in February at the High School which resulted in several students being sent to jail and one teacher hospitalized with injuries.  Some community members are opposed to the new safety measures.

• In Georgia, officers from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office are making good use of police dogs in maintaining safer communities and schools.  The two canines have sniffed out contraband totaling over $2 million dollars in 2019.  In the schools, the dogs conduct random checks around the physical plant, classroom searches, and parking lot sniffs.

• In Indiana, school officials in Frankton are implementing a clear backpack policy after a bomb threat earlier this year forced the evacuation of a school.  Students must also keep the bags in their locker until school gets out.

• In Illinois, the Illinois Association of School Boards rejected a proposal to allow schools to arm teachers and staff at schools. The policy proposal was revisited after small rural schools asked for the option to provide better protection for their campuses because of the long response times when violence threatens their schools.

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Safety Law News for November 22, 2019

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• In Illinois, local school districts and the Illinois Association of School Boards are revisiting the proposal to allow schools to arm teachers and staff at schools.  Educators are having a change of heart on the issue in sympathy with small rural school districts that cannot afford to hire school resource officers but face long response times when violence threatens their schools.

• In Connecticut, parents of students in the Greenwich Public Schools are demanding more attention be given to campus safety.  A recent spate of incidents, including kids getting hit by cars in crosswalks, inconsistent screening of visitors who ring the doorbell at a school, and outdated infrastructure in the buildings, is giving rise to the concerns.

• In Ohio, the Canfield Police Department released a report, detailing more than 20 incidents in which they say the school district failed to notify a school resource officer about potential issues when they arose.  The incidents include assaults, weapons, and altercations between students and faculty members.

• In Arizona, State Representative Jay Lawrence criticized the state superintendent for supporting the use of newly approved school safety funds on mostly counselors and social workers rather than armed guards.