Safety Law News for July 7, 2016

  • In California, the state court of appeal has ruled that school administrators had authority to seize and searched a student cell phone based on the student’s suspected involvement in an incident in which a firearm was discovered on campus.  The phone contained digital images of the student holding the firearm. [In re Rafael C.].
  • In Iowa, the state supreme Court ruled that the search of a high school student’s football equipment bag by a school official did not violate the constitutional limitations on searches and seizures under Federal and state law.  The bag, left behind when the student-athlete was injured during a game, contained a long-barreled handgun along with a bag which appeared to contain marijuana, rolling papers, and other drug paraphernalia. [State v. Lindsey].
  • In Maryland, the court of appeals ruled against school officials who searched a student after he was found in possession of a validly prescribed medication.  The court ruled that even though the student violated school rules by failing to give the medicine to the school nurse, such a violation did not support an inference or suspicion that the student possessed additional medication or contraband. [In re Kavon P.].
  • In California, the court of appeal upheld the practice of a local school to conduct a random search of classrooms from time-to-time. The school had a policy that school personnel would randomly select one classroom to search each day for weapons and drugs.  A student was found with a knife in his folder. [In re R.H.].

Safety Law News for June 30, 2016

  • In Georgia, the state court of appeals has ruled that a school district’s “zero-tolerance” policy of expelling students for fighting regardless of whether the student was acting in self-defense was not permitted by the Georgia self-defense statute. [Henry County Board of Education v. S.G.]
  • In Illinois, the teachers’ union at Fairmont School District 89 in Lockport, raised campus safety concerns with the school board after losing a school resource officer.  The union president, urged the board to reinstate the school resource officer program.

Safety Law News for June 28, 2016

  • In Alabama, the new interagency school safety agreement between Huntsville school officials and police is proving difficult. One point of contention is marijuana. Some officials believe any quantity is arrestable, while some are opposed to arresting children for small amounts.
  • In Georgia, a new chief of police and 67 new school resource officers were sworn in as members of the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department. The new police officers will be assigned to middle and high schools.

 

Safety Law News for June 7, 2016

  • In Delaware, a coalition of state officials, education administrators and police say that the first step to reducing violence among young people is to have police officers assigned to elementary and middle schools.
  • In Missouri, the Governor has signed House Bill 1583 into law.  It requires teachers to receive two hours of training in suicide awareness and prevention by the 2017-2018 school year. The new law also adds a cyberbullying prohibition to the education code.
  • In Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education has released its 2015 School Climate Star Ratings.  The data is reported in a five-star system that defines school climate as “the quality and character of school life” based on surveys from parents and school personnel.

Safety Law News for June 2, 2016

  • In Georgia, according to new state statistics nearly 4 out of 10 Atlanta schools are at unsatisfactory levels on matters of safety and security.
  • In Kentucky, according to recent a survey of the Kentucky Center for School Safety, the No. 1 bullying-related frustration reported by school administrators comes from parents who misunderstand bullying and complain about school discipline.

Safety Law News for May 27, 2016

  • In New York, data provided by the NYPD data contradict Mayor de Blasio’s repeated assertions that city schools are safe. Over 1,750 weapons have been recovered in the past 10 months — up 26 percent over last year.
  • In California, the San Francisco Unified School District has successfully settled a lawsuit for $11.5 million to settle a lawsuit it brought against a school bus company that used unsafe buses to transport San Francisco students.
  • In Indiana, the Indiana Department of Education certified a new class of school safety specialists, bringing the total number of these officials to about 2,500.  The number of these specialists deployed at schools throughout Indiana has more than doubled since 2010.