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Safety Law News for May 9, 2024

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— In North Carolina, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina affirmed the juvenile adjudication of a student  for “Communicating a Threat to Commit Mass Violence on Educational Property” in violation of state law.  The student argued that “there was insufficient evidence (that he) communicated a threat to commit mass violence on educational property… (and) there was no evidence (his) statement constituted a true threat and, as such, was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”  Both the trial court and the appellate court disagreed, stating that “True Threats’ encompass those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.  The speaker need not actually intend to carry out the threat. Rather, a prohibition on true threats ‘protects individuals from the fear of violence’ and from the disruption that fear engenders, in addition to protecting people ‘from the possibility that the threatened violence will occur.”  In this case, “the State’s evidence did provide evidence of the context in which (the student) alleged threat was made. The evidence showed a group of students was gathered waiting to leave their chorus class to go to lunch when (the student) made the statement that he was “going to shoot up the school.” Two student-bystanders…testified consistent with each other that they heard the statement…(and were) scared enough to report the threat right away. (Another student) testified it made him sick to his stomach.”   In Re D.R.F.

— In Indiana, the Governor “announced 474 schools were approved for the state grants…the bulk of that money is dedicated to putting more school resource officers in the schools. More than $19 million of this school safety grant will be invested in hiring more of them or paying for those already employed at the schools.”

— In West Virginia, Superintendents, principals, teachers, and police from around the state are discussing how to protect children online, believing that “kid’s lives are increasingly spent online, improving its safety regulations are more important than ever before.”  All officials are “learning about online threats to children” from the FBI and the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security.  They are being told that, “there are predators out there, there are certain groups being formed that actually prey on our children, get them to send them a picture or something that could possibly be inappropriate and hold that over their head, which causes children to have anxiety and do things that they normally would not do.”

— In New Hampshire,  an MOU between the Lebanon School District and Police Department “would provide a specially trained officer to the schools to assist in safety, educational programs and other support services — but eliminate the daily police presence in a single school building.”

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Safety Law News for May 3, 2024

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— In Colorado, the United States District Court held that summary judgment was inappropriate in a Title IX case involving student-on-student sexual harassment.  The case arose out of a series of incidents in which for several years male students would “grope, grab, or touch female students’ breasts as part of “Titty Touch Tuesday””… and slap or touch the butts of mostly female students as part of “Slap Ass Friday.””  Students tended not to report the assaults because, “it was so normalized that they assumed administrators knew it was happening.”  The court announced that, “school recipients of federal funds may be liable under Title IX for its own conduct in being deliberately indifferent to student-on-student sexual harassment…to establish school district liability under Title IX for being deliberately indifferent to student-on-student sexual harassment, a plaintiff must demonstrate that (1) an appropriate person with authority to take corrective action to end the discrimination (2) had actual knowledge of discrimination in the recipient’s programs but (3) failed adequately to respond in a manner amounting to deliberate indifference, and (4) the harassment was so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it deprived the victim of access to the educational benefits or opportunities provided by the school.  The court ruled that summary judgement of not appropriate because while it was “undisputed that multiple former students who attended …from 2010 through 2017…described a culture wherein male students touched female students’ breasts on Tuesdays and their butts on Fridays without consent… the parties dispute the level of knowledge of the administrators.”  A.C. as next friend S.T.C. v. Jefferson County R-1 School District

— In Virginia, a Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety for Loudoun County Public Schools has produced a series of recommendations for protecting students.  The major take-away was the proposal for school officials to hire police officers or private security guards the 61 public elementary schools. Police are already deployed at the middle schools and high schools.  The only police presence in Loudoun’s elementary schools is through the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program. Other recommendations include (2) increasing security personnel coverage for after-school events; (3) making school-level participation in safety & security and threat assessment training a priority; (4) making sure that police and mental health representatives are involved in every threat assessment; (5) designating the Division of Safety & Security as a “Law Enforcement Unit” for purposes of FERPA; (6) designating a campus as an alternative school; (7)  adding “a digital analysis assessment to all serious and very serious threat assessments.”  The recommendations are now up for public review and feedback.

— In New York, the Niskayuna Central School District School Board is authorizing a outside consultant to study “the potential return of its dormant school resource officer (SRO) program.”  The Board acknowledges that, “(o)ver the course of the last month to two months, there’s been considerable advocacy from the community for an SRO program and opposed to an SRO program.”

— In Kentucky, a Report by the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security shows that “just 67% of public elementary schools and 75% of public middle and high schools” have taken advantage of the $140 million provided by the state last summer to put an armed school resource officer in every school.

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Safety Law News for April 29, 2024

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— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed a lower court ruling denying a motion for summary judgment dismissal of a case arising from injuries received by a student while participating in a game during gym class.  The game, called “Steal the Bacon,” required each student to wear “a belt with a detachable flag hanging from it… line up across from a student on the opposing team…(with) toy pigs located between them.”  While “running to grab one of the pigs and then racing with the pig in hand to cross a line without losing the flag,” the injured student collided with a fellow student.  The lower court held that there were material facts for a jury to decide upon which liability might be found.  On review, the New York Supreme Court disagreed.  It held that while a “school has a duty to exercise the same degree of care toward its students as would a reasonably prudent parent,” that schools “cannot reasonably be expected to continuously supervise and control all movements and activities of students.”  Another rule follows this one: “where an accident occurs in so short a span of time that even the most intense supervision could not have prevented it, any lack of supervision is not the proximate cause of the injury.”  Dismissal was appropriate because the student “was engaged in an age-appropriate activity that did not constitute dangerous play…(and) more intense supervision would not have prevented the spontaneous and accidental collision of the two children.”  S.T. v. Island Park Union Free School District

— In Tennessee, school officials in the Campbell County Schools are standing fast with the current policy of working “closely with local law enforcement to create a safe environment,” and not arming teachers on campus.  Recently enacted House Bill 1202 allows but does not require teachers to carry a concealed handgun on school property.  In Campbell County, “nothing in our schools is going to change… That is not an added responsibility that our teachers need to take on.”

— In Kentucky, the Kentucky Department of Education’s School Safety Annual Statistical Report discloses “an increase of 99.7% in reports of deadly weapons on campus from five years ago.”  State and local officials view this data as evidence of the successful implementation of the School Safety and Resiliency Act and the S.T.O.P. anonymous tipline.  Students are providing the information regarding weapons on campus in the majority of incidents.

— In Alabama, House Bill 414 has been introduced by the legislature.  Its provisions will allow the criminal prosecution of parents whose children bring guns onto campus:  “This bill would provide a criminal penalty for a parent or legal guardian that does not reasonably secure their firearm which results in their minor unlawfully possessing the firearm on the premises of a public school.”  The legislature see the proposal as “more of a responsibility bill that will safeguard the welfare of our children as well as our educators.”

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Safety Law News for April 22, 2024

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— In Indiana, the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed termination of parental rights of a mother based upon school safety concerns.  The juvenile court ruled that there was a clear correlation between student’s dangerous behavior at school and the parent’s neglect, domestic abuse, and poor home conditions.  The incidents on campus included “physical and verbal aggression towards staff and students, threats of violence towards himself and others, and a refusal to follow directions.”  In one incident, the student “attempted to take the school resource officer’s gun.”  On appeal, the judges ruled that termination of parental rights was in the student’s best interests.  “The evidence also established that (the) Mother did not demonstrate the appropriate level of concern in connection to Child’s dangerous behaviors…(the) Child’s behavior improved when his contact with (the) Mother was limited and DCS’s plan for adoption, with an adoptive family having been identified, would provide (the) Child with much needed stability.”  R B v. Indiana Department of Child Services

— In Illinois, the Champaign Unit 4 School Board voted unanimously to return school resource officers to schools.  The removal of the police was the direct result of staffing shortages.  “Between January 2019 and July 2021, the Champaign Police Department saw 32 officers leave its ranks.”  The result was a delay in hiring, training, and deployment of officers to the schools.

— In Pennsylvania, the New Castle Area School District “is proceeding with establishing a police force, naming a police chief and hiring two officers.”  School officials intend more officers – “to have one officer in each school.”  “The police officers will function as a police department (having) detaining and arrest powers and the authority to make arrests, file citations for disorderly conduct or other minor offenses and file major criminal charges by juvenile petitions.”

— In Arizona, Student gun threats are on the rise in Arizona schools. “In 2022, police handled an average of two gun threat incidents a day. From 2019 to 2022, emergency calls from schools came in, on average, about 10 times a week.”

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Safety Law News for April 17, 2024

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— In Kentucky, the Court of Appeals of Kentucky affirmed the dismissal of a case brought against a school based upon qualified immunity.  The lawsuit arose out of an incident in which a school employee on the security team attempted to physically restrain a student when the student attempted to leave school building while in a state of intoxication.  The appellate court ruled that “qualified official immunity” was appropriate under Kentucky law because the “security monitor’s duty to provide a safe school environment was discretionary rather than ministerial.”  On this point the judges found that the school employee “exercised discretion in determining whether to allow student to leave building after student did not follow verbal instruction.”  Finally, the appellate court ruled that the employee “chose increasing degrees of physical restraint, and… did not exercise his discretion in bad faith.”  Carpenter v. Goodall

— In Minnesota, schools are bringing back to their campuses school resource officers. They were removed from more than few school districts after a 2023 law “included some provisions in an omnibus education bill that amended the chapter of law governing students’ rights, responsibilities and behaviors.”  Police became wary of its provisions, specifically on whether their officers had the authority to use reasonable force to resolve campus disruptions.  The new law, going into effect on March 15, 2024, removed the ambiguities.  The provisions of the 2024 law also require that SROs have training before going into a school to work and require that the role of the SROs focus upon (1) fostering a positive school climate through relationship building and open communication; (2) protecting students, staff and visitors to the school grounds from criminal activity; (3) serving as a liaison between law enforcement and school officials; (4) providing advice on safety drills; (4) identifying vulnerabilities in school facilities and safety procedures; (5) educating and advising students and staff on law enforcement topics; and (6) enforcing criminal laws.

— In Florida, Bob Tyler Toyota donated bulletproof shields for the City of Gulf Breeze school resource officers.  “The shields will be used in all Gulf Breeze elementary, middle and high schools.”

— In Ohio, “(t)he Ohio Controlling Board, which handles making adjustments to the state budget, approved public safety officials’ request for $78,028 in March to purchase two “mobile modular shoot houses” to train public school staff who are permitted to carry firearms.”  These mobile homes will help armed staff members comply with a 2022 law that allows school boards to arm specific staff members.  The provisions of the law require “at least 24 hours of initial training and eight hours of annual requalification training.”

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Safety Law News for April 5, 2024

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— In Colorado, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed a student’s adjudication of delinquency for possession of a handgun as second-time juvenile offender and possession of a weapon on school grounds.  The court held that the search of the student conducted on school grounds in accordance with an individualized, weapons-related safety plan by a Behavioral Assessment Team was reasonable under Fourth Amendment.  The appellate court reasoned that because of the nature of the multi-agency threat assessment process, implementation of the safety plan was complete in itself.  “Additional individualized suspicion stemming from the student’s behavior is not required.”  Because the safety plan was individualized, the student had a “substantially diminished expectation of privacy because the safety plan established that his property was subject to search.”  After acknowledging the legitimacy of behavioral threat assessments, the appellate court noted that, “we recognize the special responsibility that schools have for all students in their custody during the school day…. This responsibility requires schools to balance the interests of each individual student against their broader obligation to keep all students safe and to provide an appropriate learning environment for them… The threat assessment process requires a multi-disciplinary team to gather and consider a broad swath of information including… input from school personnel.”  People In Int. of J.G., 2024 CO 16 (2024).

— In North Carolina, the New Hanover County Board of Education is calling for a new committee focused on school safety.  Two incidents are prompting the decision.  “In February, a father was charged after a gun was found inside a bag brought by a preschool student at Rachel Freeman School of Engineering. In March, a student at Laney High School was charged after a school resource officer allegedly found a gun in the student’s possession.”

— In Illinois, officials in the Chicago Public Schools are seeking public feedback in a survey as it prepares to remove police officers from its campuses.  The hope going forward is for a safety policy based upon an “holistic” approach.

— In California, an ad hoc committee made up of Santa Rosa City Council members and Santa Rosa City School Board trustees have created a plan to bring police back to its schools.  The mayor says “the funds aren’t there.”  “Students, parents and staff concerned about safety at Santa Rosa City Schools have been pleading for the return of campus police… since the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old on the Montgomery High School campus last year.”