— In Kansas, the United States District Court held that educators do not have immunity when they fail to properly supervise students. In refusing to dismiss a lawsuit brought by parents of a student who was repeatedly assaulted in school, the court ruled that discretionary function immunity does not shield schools from liability from the failure to supervise and protect students. State laws create a legal duty that educators are required to follow. Spencer Edgin v. Blue Valley USD
— In Tennessee, the 2019-2020 Safe Schools Report by the Tennessee Department of Education released the statistics related to school safety. For each school, the sum of serious school safety incidents (i.e., possession of a handgun, assault of a teacher, or assault of a student) is divided by the school’s average daily membership (ADM), which gives a School Safety Index score. A higher index score indicates a relatively higher level of reported incidents.
— A national student survey, conducted by Navigate360 and John Zogby Strategies highlights students’ lack of confidence in their school’s ability to keep them safe. The majority (54%) of students did not believe schools were equipped to respond effectively to emergency incidents or student mental health needs. Only 38% of teens were confident that school officials could be relied upon to create an atmosphere of physical and social-emotional safety in the classroom.
— In California, proposed legislation would allow speed safety cameras near schools to slow drivers’ speeds in an effort to increase the safety of children, pedestrians and cyclists. SB 735 would require that speed safety cameras be set up in school zones, during school hours, and for sports and other activities taking place in a school setting. The cameras would be set up to scan license plates to enforce speeding violations.