School Safety Law Blog – Page 92 – News and Information for School Safety

Safety Law News for July 12, 2016

by Bernie James • July 12, 2016

In Pennsylvania, the federal district court has ruled that educators did not violate the rights of a ninth grade student by suspending him for posting on his website page about a bomb going off at the school the next day. The Tinker v. Des Moines case was applied to the student’s off-campus speech because educators could reasonably forecast substantial disruption at school where the speech was threatening student or school safety. [R.L. v. Central York School District].

In California, the state court of appeal refused to get involved in a dispute on restorative justice discipline policies by deferring to a decision by the Commission on Professional Competence to reinstate an administrator for failing to call the police or report to anyone an incident involving the sale of marijuana on campus. The reinstatement was based on the administrator’s promise that she would not repeat her mistake in the future. [Bellflower Unified School District v. Commission On Professional Competence].

In Texas, the Greenville Independent School District is proceeding with plans to form its own police department. The plan would involve the hiring of a GISD Chief of Police and additional school resource officers.

In Connecticut, the Bridgeport Board of Education voted to eliminate the five school resource officers who are funded by the board. The school board cut the resource officers not just because the move will save nearly $500,000 a year, but because many of the duties the resource officers were performing were police duties.

by Bernie James • 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.].

by Bernie James • 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 New Jersey, the state Senate has approved SB 2983 that would create a new category of police officer – the Class Three special law enforcement officer – to provide armed security in schools in the state. They would not replace school resource officers.

In Pennsylvania, the school board of the Gateway School District in Monroeville, has approved the policy to create a school police force. The police force will be made up of retired officers who will serve as armed guards at each school in the district.

In Nebraska, Omaha school resource officers are being training in a special class: “Policing the Teen Brain in Schools.” The three-day training session teaches officers how to improve their interactions with teens.

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.

by Bernie James • June 28, 2016

In Virginia, the Hampton Police Division will spend over $1 million in the coming fiscal year to station officers within the city’s schools and provide safe road-crossing for students.

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 Massachusetts, members of the Brockton City Council are sounding off against the mayor after he announced that school resource officers would be taken away in response to a City Council budget decision.

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.

by Bernie James • 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.

In California, charter schools and civil rights advocates are sparring with the Los Angeles Unified School District over a policy requiring random searches of students with metal detectors.

by Bernie James • June 2, 2016

In Maryland, Prince George County School Superintendent has promised to begin publicly reporting statistics and summaries on school safety for every campus.

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 Tennessee, a contract before the Knox County school board will train school resource officers to do safety checks on school buses.

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.