Safety Law News For October 27, 2015

  • In Florida, the Manatee County School District will spend almost $1.5 million for a school resource officers program. The program includes at least one SRO at each of the high schools and middle schools with shared coverage of most of the elementary schools.
  • In Alaska, school disciplinary data from the Anchorage schools shows that educators suspended males at a rate nearly three times greater than that of female students. Black students and students with disabilities were suspended at a rate double that of all students.
  • In Texas, officials in the Longview ISD plan on utilizing a new security device from called the ProV2. It’s a handheld device that provides at least three steps to diffuse tense situations on campus and uses Bluetooth technology to call administrators or 911.

Safety Law News for October 23, 2015

  • In Minnesota, teachers from the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District are taking part in a four-week Teachers Academy with local law enforcement authorities. The program is meant to give educators preparedness for school violence. The sessions cover topics from the use of force to surveying a building for suspects.
  • In New York City, law enforcement officials are expressing concerns over the decision by the Department of Education to remove metal detectors from some of the 80 schools that use the devices. During the 2013-2014 academic year, the NYPD reported that 1,200 firearms, knives, box cutters and other weapons were confiscated at schools.

Safety Law News for October 20, 2015

  • In Missouri, the Columbia Public Schools are working collaboratively with technology companies and civil liberties organizations to ensure student safety as the Internet and smart devices replace books.
  • In Massachusetts, a federal court judge has ruled that a school district is not liable for student injuries sustained by bullying even though educators should have done more to protect the victim and take the incidents seriously. [Hankey v. Town of Concord-Carlisle].

Safety Law News For October 16, 2015

  • In Texas, schools in the Houston area are taking proactive safety measures in regards to violence on school campuses. The activities include drills designed to prepare students and teachers for threat of a shooter on school grounds. All schools are required to participate in a minimum of eight crisis drills.
  • In Michigan, legislators are implementing a school bus safety pilot program with the testing of a more visible school bus warning light system. The goal is to reduce student injuries when driver miss the warning and pass by buses as they stop.

Safety Law News for October 13, 2015

  • In Wyoming, the prosecutor of the City of Cody is implementing a collaborative diversion program. Under the program, agency representatives from the Department of Family Services, county youth probation and two school resource officers meet once a week to discuss citations and reports involving juveniles to determine an appropriate resolution.
  • In Georgia, the court system and schools in Clayton County are working together so that minor cases of delinquency are handled by the schools.

Safety Law News for October 9, 2015

  • In North Carolina, officials in New Hanover County have signed an interagency agreement aimed at keeping kids in school and out of court except for the most serious behavior. The agreement includes a broad group of agencies – law enforcement, school officials, counselors, social services and mental health agencies and community groups.