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Safety Law News for December 15, 2017

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  • In Wisconsin, school resource officers in the Sheboygan School District will begin wearing body cameras.  The SRO can use the cameras to record all enforcement and investigative incidents and, also whenever contact becomes adversarial.    Footage captured by the cameras would be considered a “law enforcement unit record” and therefore exempt from FERPA.  USDOE regulations say that images of students captured on video devices that are maintained by the school’s law enforcement unit are not considered education records under FERPA.
  • In Texas, a lawsuit filed against the city of Southlake and a school resource officer fired for handcuffing an autistic student has been dismissed by a federal judge.  The court ruled that the officer’s actions were reasonable under the circumstances.
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Safety Law News for December 13, 2017

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  • In California, the Vallejo school board agreed to a contract with the City of Vallejo to extend and expand the school resource officer program.  The educators stated that the district has been happy with the performance of the SROs.  However, the agreement does not settle a disagreement over authority school officials will have over the SRO.
  • In Kentucky, House Bill 145 is being introduced that will require that all students in elementary, middle and high school to be taught about “drug abuse prevention, with an emphasis on the prescription drug epidemic and the connection between prescription opioid abuse and addiction to other drugs, such as heroin and synthetic drugs.”
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Safety Law News for December 6, 2017

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  • In Michigan, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 5126.  The bill would amend the Education Code to exempt law enforcement officers from school rules on the restraint and seclusion of students.  Previously, in March 2017, HB 5417 was passed into law.  It limits, without exceptions, restraint and seclusion, allowing it only under emergency situations.
  • In Kentucky, school officials in the Jefferson County believe their schools are experiencing the effects of violent crime in the community.  They are exploring district-wide training in preventing escalation of disruptions on campus.  The discussion is a response to an increase in assaults and fights in schools.

 

 

 

 

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Safety Law News for November 27, 2017

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  • In North Carolina, students in middle school and high school across the North Carolina Piedmont region are addicted to powerful drugs.  School resource officers say that they see students getting high in class with their teacher in the room.
  • In Texas, the Athens Independent School District has terminated its own school police department.  School officials approached the city with the idea of the Athens Police Department implementing a school resource officer program.   “The district said they want to get out of the law-enforcement business so that they could focus on the education business.”
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Safety Law News for November 21, 2017

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  • In Oregon, the Court of Appeals held that the “school safety exception” to the Oregon Constitution did not permit a police officer to search a non-student, who happened to be at school during a shooting that threatened school children and staff.  The defendant had heard that a shooting had occurred at the high school where his younger sister was a student.  He rushed to the school while in possession of a handgun.  [State v. Powell]
  • In Indiana, the Court of Appeals held that two students who resisted attempts by school resource officers to search them could be prosecuted for acts constituting new offenses within the new-crime exception to the exclusionary rule.  The officers were conducting pat-down searches of students who were in a classroom where a cell phone was reported stolen.  Both juveniles assaulted the officers to prevent the searches.  [K.C. v. State]
  • In Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it was unreasonable for a police officer to search the bag of a non-student trespasser who attempted to enter the school.  The court ruled that while the officer could have arrested the trespasser, which would have allowed a search incident-to-arrest, the police lacked a reasonable belief that the defendant was armed and dangerous and, therefore, a patfrisk and search of the backpack was unreasonable.  [Commonwealth v. Villigran]
  • In Colorado, the United States District Court dismissed a civil lawsuit holding that a student’s rights were not violated when school officials expelled him and police arrested him for making threats against the school.  The student was acquitted of the charge of violating C.R.S. § 18-9-109(6), that makes it a crime to; “knowingly make or convey to another person a credible threat to … a student, school official, or employee of an educational institution.”  The court held that even if a violation did occur, the officials would not be liable based on qualified immunity.  [Wilk v. St. Vrain Valley School District].
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Safety Law News for November 13, 2017

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  • In Florida, Miami-Dade schools are implementing a new campus safety program. “Enhancing School Safety Officer Effectiveness through Online Professional and Job Embedded Coaching,” is an anti-violence program, funded by a $1 million federal grant from the National Institute of Justice.  School resource officers will be trained on social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care, cultural competence and restorative problem solving.
  • In California, the West Contra Costa Unified School District is planning to modify its school safety program.  Officials will eliminate suspensions or expulsions solely on the basis of “disruption/willful defiance,” train educators in de-escalating conflict, reduce the number of school resource officers in schools, and revise the role of the remaining officers so that student discipline will be handled solely by school personnel, not law enforcement.