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Safety Law News for April 2nd, 2019

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• In Illinois, the Illinois House passed a proposal for more campus safety resources and personnel.  HB 3244 would allow school districts to impose a tax to be used exclusively for school resource officers and mental health professionals.

• In Kentucky, the legislature sent to the governor Senate Bill 162.  Under the provisions of the law schools are authorized to hire retired state police officers to serve as school resource officers.

• In Connecticut, the mayor of the City of Hamden is offering to fund school resource officers for the elementary schools.  The two officers would rotate around the town’s eight elementary schools.  The school board is considering the proposal.

• In South Carolina, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department is implementing the Youth Arbitration Program (YAP) in response to its own Report that suggests that too many school-based arrests are occurring.  Under the YAP, all juveniles taken into custody by SROs are referred to YAP. This program allows the juvenile to receive counseling and other services without the fear of having a criminal record.

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Safety Law News for March 26, 2019

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• In Mississippi, the legislature and governor enacted House Bill 1283.  The new law expands funding for the Mississippi Community Oriented Policing Services in Schools program. This program implements the recommendation of the Governor’s task force that every school have a school resource officer — providing funds to every school district that qualifies.  The legislation also requires twice-yearly active shooter drills and implements a threat-reporting system to be monitored by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

• In Nebraska,  legislation has been introduced to require model policies and training for school districts that employ school resource officers.  LB 390 would establish statewide standards for school resource officers.  Training would be required on subjects including student rights and juvenile brain development.  School administrators would be required to attend the training sessions as well.

• In North Carolina, school-based law enforcement officers assigned to Winston-Salem and Forsyth County schools no longer wear traditional police uniforms.  The new uniform includes a blazer, polo shirt, tactical khakis, and tennis shoes. • In Texas,  the legislature  is proposing new safety requirements at schools and funding for mental health resources.  Under Senate Bill 11, school districts would be required to develop a safety plan, improve coordination with local law enforcement, and provide more mental health training for teachers.

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Safety Law News for March 21, 2019

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In North Carolina, House Bill 295 has been introduced to prohibit public schools and charter schools from using corporal punishment to discipline students.  Corporal punishment is currently legal in 19 states.

In Tennessee, House Bill 947 has been introduced by the Governor.  The legislation proposes a $30 million increase in the newly created school safety grant fund to enhance school safety.  The goal of the policy is to place school resources officers in nearly 500 schools that do not have an officer on campus, especially schools in rural areas.

In Washington D.C., the U.S. Department of Education has released guidance on what the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) permits and what it protects as to student privacy in schools that implement interagency safe schools plans.  The resource guide may be found on this link.

In Arkansas, the Arkansas Senate approved Senate Bill 383, sending it to the House for further action.  The legislation will allow schools to directly hire law enforcement officers as school resource officers. Currently, only law enforcement agencies employ school resource officers.

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Safety Law News for March 19, 2019

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• In Georgia, the Muscogee County School Board voted unanimously to hire a School Security Police Chief to implement changes on how school security employees handle crisis situations.

• In Maryland, Baltimore lawmakers killed a proposal that would have allowed city school police officers to carry guns while patrolling in schools.  Under current law, Baltimore’s school police officers are allowed to carry their guns while patrolling outside schools before and after class hours. But they are required to store their weapons in a secure location during the school day.  The Governor criticized the lawmakers.

• In New Jersey, the Governor has signed S-86, legislation that expands the categories of those who are eligible to provide security at schools.  Under the provisions of the law, a person is eligible to be appointed as a Class Three special law enforcement officer if he is a retired police officer less than 65 years old and has served as a municipal or county police officer or was regularly employed as a full-time member of the State Police.

• In Virginia, the General Assembly passed HB 2609 and SB 1130.  Both bills, if signed by the Governor, would change training for School Resource Officers.  The legislation would mandate that school-based law enforcement officers receive training from the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

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Safety Law News for March 8, 2019

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• In Washington State, the Senate passed Senate Bill 5141, a bill regulating the training and role of school-based law enforcement. The bill adopts the community-oriented policing model, limits intervention to crimes not school discipline, creates a data collection and reporting plan, and a procedure for parents to file complaints about officers.

• In North Carolina, Senate Bill 192, the School Security Act of 2019, is being considered by the legislature.  If enacted, it will give teachers a five-percent raise in salary to become sworn police officers. Teachers would be authorized to carry concealed weapons in their classrooms and would have arrest powers.

• In Maryland, legislation has been introduced that would create a “Preventative Measure Unit” in public schools that would connect students to mental and behavioral health services.  House Bill 1418 mandates funding for prevention officers who would bridge a gap between school administrators and the juvenile justice system.

• In Ohio, a Butler County judge ruled that Madison County school district administrators and staff do not need the same hours of training as sworn police to be able to carry concealed weapons in school.  Parents had filed a lawsuit to prevent the implementation of a school policy requiring only 27 hours of training.  Sworn officers must complete over 700 hours of training.

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Safety Law News for March 5, 2019

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• In Florida, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office is offering to move around funds from the County budget to reduce the financial burden of the school resource officer program on the school board.  Last year, the school board announced its intention to create a police department within the school district to save $2 million dollars.  The Sheriff believes that the policy change is a bad decision. 

• In Illinois, the Evanston Township Board of Education is implementing a new policy that governs the use of body cameras by school-based police.  Under the agreement, officers “shall not record during the school day unless and until the SRO has reason to believe that a crime has been, or is in the process of being, committed.”  The exception to the rule is that, “in the event an SRO is in a hostile situation or perceives that a complaint will be raised, in the SRO’s discretion, the (body worn camera) can begin recording.”  An incident in Washington State, in which students and staff members had starkly different perceptions, illustrates the importance of body cameras.

• In Kentucky, the legislature has passed Senate Bill 1 and given it to the Governor for final passage.  Senate Bill 1, the School Safety and Resiliency Act, creates Kentucky’s first school safety marshal, expands the use of school resource officers, creates a statewide anonymous safety tip line, and aims to have one counselor with mental health training for every 250 students in a school.

• In Nebraska, a bill proposed by state Sen. Chambers of Omaha would change the way schools employ security officers. His bill, LB589, would prohibit peace officers employed by a law enforcement agency from serving as school resource officers.  Chambers claims that having police officers in schools does not enhance the educational environment, but rather harms students’ ability to learn.