School Safety Law Blog – Page 69 – News and Information for School Safety

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Safety Law News for March 2, 2018

by Bernie James • March 2, 2018

In Florida, the Hernando County school board voted to add additional officers at schools in response to the Parkland tragedy. Only 13 of their 23 schools had school resource officers. The policy is effective immediately. The officers will be in place as soon as possible.

In Ohio, legislation is being considered again that will standardize the qualifications and training for police officers serving as school resource officers. House Bill 318 would require that new school resource officers receive at least 40 hours of training through either the National Association for School Resource Officers or the Ohio Association for School Resource Officers.

In Alabama, the Tuscumbia Board of Education is teaming up with the City of Tuscumbia Police Department to implement a school resource officer program. Officers will be assigned immediately to the high school and middle school, but will also patrol the halls of the elementary schools.

In Massachusetts, officials in Yarmouth have revised the policies regarding the 31 year-long school resource officer program. School Resource Officers will now be in full uniform each day. They will also have access to long weapons which can match and overcome the weapons used in the most recent school shootings.

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Safety Law News for February 23, 2018

by Bernie James • February 23, 2018

In Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals suppressed the statements of a student to a school official admitting placing graffiti on the walls of the boys’ restrooms. The administrator immediately told a police officer, who entered the office, spoke to the student and arrested him. The officer did not advise the student of his constitutional rights nor contact a parent. [D.Z. v. State of Indiana]

In Rhode Island, legislation is being introduced to amend the education code to require one school resource officer in every public school, and to require two officers when the school’s student body is more than 1,200.

In Florida, the Broward County Sheriff is implementing a new policy that allows deputies guarding county schools to carry rifles, including AR-15s. The officers will keep rifles locked in school offices during the day and take them home at night.

In Arkansas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that parents of a student who died by suicide failed to show that school district acted in bad faith by failing to adequately protect him from being bullied as required to state a claim under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794. [Estate of Barnwell v. Watson]

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Safety Law News for February 20, 2018

by Bernie James • February 20, 2018

In Ohio, the Ohio Court of Appeals upheld the suppression of statements made to police by a juvenile during an interrogation. The court ruled that the juvenile’s waiver of his Miranda rights was not valid because (1) his first and primary language was Spanish, (2) he had just turned 16 when the interrogation occurred, (3) he was a poor student repeating the ninth grade, (4) he had no previous contact with the police, and (5) school officials did nothing to ensure that suspect’s parents were aware of the situation. [State v. Pablo]

In New Mexico, the United States District Court ruled that a student had a valid claim under Title IX for retaliation when school officials refused to intervene to stop harassment from other students, obstructed the police investigation, and told her parents that a school transfer would not go through until the family signed documents releasing the school from all civil claims. [Higgins v. Saavedra].

In California, the United States District Court ruled that a school district bears a legal duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising students and may be held liable for injuries caused by the failure to exercise such care. The court refused to dismiss a claim by a student that the school’s inadequate supervision allowed a known bully to harass and inappropriately touch him. [Wormuth v. Lammersville Union School District].

In New York, a New York State senator is calling for the upcoming state budget to fund school resources officers in all New York schools. Under the proposed plan, the state would incentivize school districts to hire the officers and move to convert existing part-time positions into full-time positions.

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Safety Law News for February 16, 2018

by Bernie James • February 16, 2018

In Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that school officials had reasonable suspicion to compel a urinalysis drug test and later to terminate a teacher, who tested positive for cocaine metabolites. [Metz v. Bethlehem Area School District]

In Wisconsin, the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary held a public hearing for Assembly Bill 693 (AB 693), also known as the Teacher Protection Act. The legislation proposes to require schools to notify police about any assault; require police to notify a school when a student has been taken into custody; give teachers the right to remove students from classrooms; and allow teachers to use reasonable and necessary force with civil immunity.

In South Carolina, after new officers from the Conway Police Department graduate from the police academy, they are required to spend the last two weeks of field training in local middle and high schools, shadowing school resource officers. The new policy is designed to improve relationships with students and help prevent crime in and outside the classroom.

In California, the role of school-based law enforcement in San Jose is changing under a new agreement between school districts and the police department. Effective immediately, the resource officers are to focus on safety and security of students and staff and not routine student misbehavior.

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Safety Law News for February 14, 2018

by Bernie James • February 14, 2018

In Washington D.C., the U.S. Department of Education and the Trump Administration has decided to discontinue the prior policy of investigating civil rights complaints from transgender students barred from school bathrooms that match their gender identity.

In Maryland, the United States Court of Appeals, ruled that a school resource officer’s decision to handcuff a calm, compliant elementary school student for fighting with another student three days earlier constituted an excessive use of force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. [E.W. by and through T.W. v. Dolgos]

In Indiana, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that a school teacher did not violate the rights of a student by spanking or smacking the student’s butt to induce the student to sit back down in her seat in an effort to manage and maintain order over her classroom. The court reasoned that Indiana’s Education Code had authorized the use of moderate corporal punishment by teachers in schools. [Fort Wayne Community Schools v. Haney].

In Pennsylvania, following the thwarted attempt of a school shooting in Uniontown School District last month, local superintendents in Fayette County have stressed that the most important tool to ensure student safety is communication.

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Safety Law News for February 9, 2018

by Bernie James • February 9, 2018

In California, the United States District Court ruled that a high school student must be allowed to kneel during the playing of the national anthem at school-sponsored events and cannot be punished by school officials for refusing to stand. [V.A. v. San Pasqual Valley Unified School District].

In Massachusetts, the United States District Court ruled that a school could be liable under Title IX for being deliberately indifferent to a student’s peer-to-peer sexual discrimination by using restorative justice mediation rather than direct intervention. The court held that even if the mediation was “timely and reasonable,” it could still amount to deliberate indifference under the law. [Harrington by Harrington v. City of Attleboro]

In California, the United States Court of Appeals, ruled that a school uniform policy requiring clothing with a logo consisting of the name of the school, the school mascot, and the motto “Tomorrow’s Leaders,” violated the First Amendment. The court ruled that the policy exemption, which allowed only the uniform of nationally recognized youth organizations (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) was an unreasonable restriction on the speech of students. [Frudden v. Pilling].

In California, the United States District Court upheld a decision by school officials to discipline students for racist and derogatory content posted on an Instagram account that was directed at the school. The court held that although the speech originated off-campus, it was reasonably foreseeable that it would reach the school and create a risk of a substantial disruption. [Shen v. Albany Unified School District].