Safety Law News for August 10, 2021

— In Arizona, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that school officials were not liable for the death of a student at the hands of her fellow-student boyfriend during an off-campus dispute.  The issue of whether the school owed the victim a duty of care based on their knowledge of the assailant’s history of violence was resolved in favor of the school. The court ruled that the school did not owe the decedent a duty under these circumstances because, “in the school-student relationship, the duty encompasses risks such as those that occur while the student is at school or otherwise under the school’s control.”  Dinsmoor v. City of Phoenix

— In Ohio, school resource officers in the City of Defiance are being equipped with BolaWraps.  The BolaWrap is a new tool that works like a remote lasso to detain people who may be combative or resistive without escalating the incident.  It shoots an eight-foot kevlar rope with bent hooks on the ends. It wraps around someone instantly after it is deployed with a range of 25 feet.

— In Florida, the Florida Board of Education unanimously approved a new rule that will allow parents to apply for vouchers and move their kids to another school if they perceive any type of “COVID-19 harassment” against their child in connection with masking, testing and isolation due to exposure.

— In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Justice has finished handing out $100 million in grants to bolster school safety.  The grants will allow schools to upgrade school security systems, train police and educators in understanding adolescent mental health, train school resource officers, create a confidential threat reporting tip line and conduct threat assessments.