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Safety Law News for August 16, 2016

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  • In Ohio, the Stow-Munroe Falls School District is implementing a new visitor management system.  The system requires visitors to have their state or federal identification scanned. It checks the identification against a national database of registered sex offenders. It can also be set to check other databases created by school officials.
  • In Florida, the students at Tampa Bay schools are bringing weapons.  Florida Department of Education data showed 788 weapons were recovered in the Tampa Bay schools during a two-year period from 2013-2015. That’s an average of 2.2 incidents per day.
  • In New York City, officials have modified the plan to eliminate all suspensions of disruptive grammar school students (K-second grade).  Instead of the requirement that limits discipline to alternative solutions, such as counseling, the new guidelines allow for suspensions if a student has already been removed from the classroom three times during a semester or twice during a trimester.
  • In Kansas, school officials in the Maize Unified School District have adopted the “Run, Hide, Fight” crisis response plan for faculty, staff, and students.  The plan urges people confronted by a shooter to assess the situation and respond accordingly, either by escaping to a safe place, taking cover, or attempting to disarm the intruder, using improvised weapons if that’s their only option.
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Safety Law News for August 11, 2016

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  • In South Carolina, the State Board of Education is proposing new rules that would redefine how school resource officers will interact with students. The proposed rules say an SRO should not get involved until student behavior becomes criminal. Other counties are already moving in this direction.
  • In Arkansas, the circuit judge of the juvenile court in Conway is meeting with all of the school resource officers to talk about how they can make a difference in the lives of young people.
  • In Wisconsin, a collaborative agreement between the La Crosse School District and the La Crosse Police Department aims to support and improve community relations with youth without having to criminalize acts that could be viewed as normal adolescent behaviors.
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Safety Law News for August 4, 2016

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  • In New Hampshire, a new drug prevention curriculum is coming to Rochester schools in an effort to teach kids at a younger age. The LEAD program (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) will replace the DARE program.
  • In Georgia, school officials and law enforcement in Thomasville are implementing a new safety program called “see something, say something.”  The program allows students to remain anonymous when reporting crimes within their school.
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Safety Law News for July 29, 2016

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  • In New York City, dozens of school resource officers were hospitalized after clashes with students in the first three months of the year, according to NYPD data.  Sixty-nine suffered injuries; 40 were severe enough to require hospital visits.  Out of a total of 1,208 incidents, 436 students were arrested during the first quarter of the year.  There were five incidents of rape.
  • In Iowa, law enforcement officials are launching a pilot project with three school districts that would allow them to use the Iowa Communications Network to tap into security cameras and conduct secure radio communications to deal with emergency situations inside school buildings.
  • In Alabama, all of the school resource officers in Huntsville City Schools will have body cameras.
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Safety Law News for July 26, 2016

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  • In Indiana, a Decatur County Community Schools official praised the impact police officers working in schools have had on students and said the presence of officers has changed the environment in positive ways.
  • In Illinois, Kane County educators are demanding full-time SROs for two high schools.  The sheriff’s office offered to provide part-time resource officers, but educators say that is not a satisfactory solution.
  • In New York City, public schools will no longer be allowed to suspend students in kindergarten through second grade under proposed updates to the Department of Education’s discipline code announced.  Educators want resources to be in place before the changes to the code are made.
  • In Indiana, a new survey of Indianapolis Public Schools teachers has found that the majority of the district’s teachers do not feel properly trained on the district’s new behavior plan intended to reduce student suspensions.
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Safety Law News for July 21, 2016

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  • In Virginia, the legislature has refiled a previously vetoed proposal on school safety.  House Bill 1392 seeks to allow school security officers to carry firearms.  The Governor vetoed the bill in April 2016 because he believes only trained, active law enforcement officials should be authorized to carry firearms in schools.
  • In New York City, teachers and staff in Queens speak openly about the failures of restorative justice.   An 18-year old student arrested on felony charges for assaulting a 14-year-old freshman wasn’t disciplined by school officials. A court order barred him from the school, but he was still allowed to attend by school officials.
  • In Pennsylvania, school officials in the Penn Hills School District have banned students from wearing hoodies in class.  All students may wear them to school, but must put them in lockers or bags once school begins.