Safety Law News for May 24, 2016

Safety Law News for May 19, 2016

  • In South Carolina, two high school administrators are being investigated after an incident report revealed that school resource officers were never called to assist in a search for a gun inside a student’s car at the school.
  • In California, a history of campus violence and the failure of educators to institute a safe schools plan is the basis of the lawsuit of parents whose son was shot in the head on campus.
  • In California, a Ventura County grand jury began an investigation after receiving a complaint about safety at the schools.  The grand jury has told the Ventura County Office of Education to dedicate a school resource officer on campus at one school for emotionally disturbed students.

Safety Law News for May 17, 2016

  • In Texas, the Irving Police Department has joined the Dallas Police Department to placed body cameras on its school resource officers. The data from the camera footage will be stored online.
  • In Virginia, a pilot program in Roanoke schools will implement restorative justice disciplinary procedures with the goal of reducing police involvement in campus disruptions.
  • In Tennessee, a disagreement between police and educators over the arrest and handcuffing of disruptive elementary school students has led to a community-wide debate over whether to implement restorative  policies in the schools.

Safety Law News for April 26, 2016

  • In Illinois, the Community Consolidated Elementary District 21 serves Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights.  In a close vote, the school board made a budget priority to keep police officers in the schools to build rapport with students and provide a sense of security.
  • In Florida, officials in Duval County are in conflict over restorative justice policies. Student arrests are down 39%, but the State Attorney says educators are exceeding the limits of the Code of Conduct.  Florida law allows schools to deal with “petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors” in-house.
  • In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City school district reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Education after an investigation determined black students accounted for 42 percent of in-school suspensions during the 2014-15 school year, while comprising 26 percent of the population, according to a statement released Wednesday by the department.

Safety Law News for April 15, 2016

  • In Mississippi, a new study reports teachers perceive a difference in the safety of the school based on the type of officers utilized in the campus safety plan.  Teachers perceived being more safe in schools with sworn and armed school resource officers as opposed to schools with unarmed and non-sworn school safety officers.

Safety Law News for April 11, 2016

  • In California, a state appellate court ruled that the warrantless search of student’s cell phone by school officials following an incident in which a firearm was discovered on campus was valid.  [In re Rafael C.]
  • In North Carolina, an appellate court upheld the conviction of a student for disorderly conduct in violation of state law.  The student directed profanity toward teachers, who stopped teaching and also required various administrative duties from the assistant principal, teachers, and the school resource officer. [In re K.S.D.]