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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.”

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Safety Law News for March 20, 2024

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— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, affirmed a ruling that refused to dismiss a case involving the off-campus suicide of a student because school officials “failed to establish that (the student’s) suicide was not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of their alleged negligence.”  The appellate court found that the student “had a lengthy history of enduring bullying by other students, which included being called various derogatory names, threatened with physical harm, and mocked for the tics he exhibited as a result of Tourette’s syndrome…(and that) instances when (the student) would purportedly respond physically to the bullying (he) would then receive discipline and other sanctions…(and that)…complaints were not taken seriously or adequately addressed.”  Therefore, school officials were not immune from potential liability on “the fact that (the student’s) death by suicide occurred off school premises and during summer vacation.”  Spring v. Allegany-Limestone Centra. School District

— In Michigan, the Tecumseh Public Schools are “working on joining the Adrian and Madison schools in having a service dog to work with their school resource officer. Adrian’s SRO, Joshua Perry, has pioneered the program, which uses a non-aggressive dog that can do some typical police dog tasks, such as sniffing out contraband or searching for people, but also be available for therapeutic needs of students and staff.”

— In Minnesota, the Governor signed a bill into law “clarifying the authority of school resource officers (SROs).” The bill, Chapter 78, defines school resource officers, requires they receive training, and clarifies the authority they have to restrain students.

— In Ohio, officials in Jefferson County are responding to a campus incident involving a weapon discovered in the high school by “implementing a new backpack policy and adding a metal detector, which will have students checked for potential weapons or unwanted products.”

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Safety Law News for March 11, 2024

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— In Washington State, the Supreme Court of Washington affirmed that school officials violated the statutory procedural rights of a student by indefinitely suspending him.  Administrators expelled the high school student on an emergency basis for violating its “gang contract,” e.g., wearing clothing affiliated with a gang.  The student also was cited for fighting another student on campus.  Later, officials “converted (the) emergency expulsion into a long-term suspension.”  The notice of this shift stated, “(d)ue to this situation and the involvement in others, aka victim of previous threat, the student will be long-term suspended and placed in an alternative educational setting.”  The Supreme Court of Washington ruled that “students who face suspensions are entitled to due process.”  Moreover, it relied upon state law which provides that, “(an) expulsion or suspension of a student may not be for an indefinite period of time and must have an end date… If a school district enrolls a student in another program or course of study during a suspension or expulsion, the district may not preclude the student from returning to the student’s regular educational setting following the end date of the suspension or expulsion, unless (certain exception apply).”  The Supreme Court of Washington found that none of the statutory exceptions applied and rejected the argument by the school that it has power to declare a discretionary placement decision based on safety concerns.  “Agreeing with the District would undermine the legislature’s intent.”  M.G. by Priscilla G. v. Yakima School District. No. 7

— In Massachusetts, School resource officers in the Mansfield School District have started an after-school video game club for middle-schoolers.  “Twice a week after school, students in grades six through eight (at the Qualters Middle School) play games and enjoy a lively atmosphere. The games include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros., and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, among others.”  The Superintendent stated that the “Game Club is yet another example of the impactful opportunities that our school resource officers develop for Mansfield students.”

— In Kentucky, provisions in Senate Bill 2 will strengthen trauma-informed resources in schools by increas(ing) suicide prevention trainings for teachers and school staff.  “According to the latest state data, one in seven high school students reported having seriously considered suicide within a 12-month period.”

— In Texas, the Texas Attorney General “released an advisory clarifying the requirements under state law for school districts to prepare for potential threats to student safety. Texas families equipped with knowledge of the law are more empowered to hold districts accountable for implementing and following the policies essential to keeping children safe at school.”