School Safety Law Blog – Page 75 – News and Information for School Safety

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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].

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Safety Law News for February 07, 2018

by Bernie James • February 7, 2018

In Ohio, the Weathersfield Board of Education is restarting its school resource officer program after a nearly 20 year hiatus. Weathersfield Schools Superintendent said the officer will help the district with many issues that involve students while providing an opportunity for kids to have pleasant interactions with a member of law enforcement rather than only seeing officers during difficult or troubling circumstances.

In Indiana, each of the 52 public and private schools in La Porte County have been equipped with new radio equipment allowing instant access to emergency responders. In case of an emergency, anyone in the school office can press a button and open a line of communication not just to the 911 dispatch center but to every first responder in the county, including passing patrol cars.

In California, the Val Verde school board voted 4-1 to form a school police department. The district has 20,000 students in three high schools, four middle schools, and 12 elementary schools.

In New York, state legislators have sent to the Governor a bill that would require private schools to follow the same child abuse reporting rules as public schools. The legislation (A5371/S4342) would require all schools to report suspicions of abuse by any staff, faculty or volunteer in the school environment, whether in a classroom, on a field trip or bus, or during extra-curricular activities.

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Safety Law News for February 2, 2018

by Bernie James • February 2, 2018

In California, officials in Bakersfield are assigning two full-time officers to work with at-risk students to combat high rates of absenteeism. The new program is a TRIAD-based approach, designed to build a positive relationship between students and law enforcement and provide mentoring to at-risk kids who may not have positive adult role models in their lives.

In Kentucky, officials for Marshall County High School in Benton are implementing a new policy after 21 persons were injured by gunfire on January 23. All students must have their bags, backpacks and purses checked before entering the school.

In Utah, officials are concerned that since HB 239 went into effect, truancy has risen dramatically. Under the new law, juveniles cannot be referred to juvenile court for most class C misdemeanors like habitual truancy, disorderly conduct, as well as status offenses. Legislation has been introduced to modify HB 239.

In South Carolina, the Horry County School Board has approved the placing of armed security guards in all 27 elementary schools. Local schools already have armed guards and school resource officers in middle and high schools.

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Safety Law News for January 31, 2018

by Bernie James • January 31, 2018

In Florida, the Florida District Court of Appeal applied the exigent circumstances exception to affirm the conviction of a shooter who seriously injured a student by firing several bullets towards a bus stop near an elementary school. Evidence used in the conviction was discovered through the warrantless search of the abandoned cell phone. [Barton v. State]

In Wisconsin, the Beloit Police Department are placing body cameras on police officers as part of a new policy of transparency and accountability. Cameras will be used by school resource officers across the School District of Beloit. The cameras would be activated when a school resource officer (SRO) gets called by a school official or security person to respond to a situation.

In Ohio, three Toledo Police Department officers, including a school resource officer, are using vlogs, or video blogs to improve relations with the community through social media use. Each vlog will focus on a particular unit or topic and can be viewed on YouTube or the department’s other social media accounts.

In Colorado, the new sexting law, HB 17-1302, took effect in January. Under prior law, every violation was a felony. The new law provides a menu of options. The Colorado School Safety Resource Center (CSSRC) has been mandated to create a comprehensive education program to distribute to schools by June 2018. In the meantime, CSSRC has released a brief video to help the public understand the tiered system.

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Safety Law News for January 25, 2018

by Bernie James • January 25, 2018

In California, the Court of Appeal held that for purposes of Fourth Amendment analysis, “school officials,” include police officers who are assigned to high schools as resource officers as well as the backup officers who are called to assist them. [In re K.J.]

In Missouri, the United States District Court ruled that the following factors would determine whether handcuffing a student was a violation of the Fourth Amendment: whether the student was out of control when the officer arrived, whether student attempted to flee, whether student continued to scream in the hallway with officer, whether student posed a safety threat in the hallway, and how long he was in handcuffs. [K.W.P. v. Kansas City Public Schools]

In New Mexico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that a school resource officer violated the rights of a thirteen-year-old seventh-grader by handcuffing and arresting him for skipping class. [Scott v. City of Albuquerque]

In Kentucky, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that an award of $589,000 in compensatory damages and a punitive damages award of $500,000 was not excessive when a police officer wrongfully arrested a school counselor. The court found that the officer’s conduct evinced clear indifference to or reckless disregard for counselor’s health and safety. [Wesley v. Campbell]