— In Missouri, the United States District Court dismissed the claims of a parent who brought suit against a school district, campus administrators, and law enforcement who constrained his protests of school traffic control policies. The case arose in a series of incidents when, while picking up his children, the parent observed the school blocking access to one campus lot to allow the school buses to “leave the property before student drivers were released.” Believing that this policy violated student rights, the disagreement evolved until the parent, “using profanities and obscenities (declared) that what they were doing was illegal and that he intended to pursue legal action to enjoin their conduct.” (The parent) also threatened to stand in front of the school buses to prevent them from leaving, and he challenged (law enforcement) to arrest him.” Instead, school officials obtained an ex parte order of protection against the parent. The school board also banned the parent from school property for 365 days. The court observed that “the conduct for which (the educators) instituted the ban is not protected under the First Amendment.” First the court held that “public schools…are non-public forums unless school authorities open the facilities for general use by the public.” Second, the court held that, “regardless of the public or non-public nature of the forum, true threats’ of violence is an historically unprotected category of communications.”… (T)he facts alleged…how that (the parent) made a true threat that he would commit a violent act against (law enforcement) and possibly others on school property.” Therefore, “in view of the context and environment within which (the parent) made his statements and his aggressive behavior while making them, a reasonable person receiving or witnessing the statements would interpret them as a serious threat of violence, subjecting them to fear of violence or injury. The statements, therefore, are not protected by the First Amendment.” Gaines v. Windsor C-1 School Board
— In Tennessee, school resource officers will be in every Metro Nashville middle and high school. “There are plans to staff five more elementary schools with SROs in the fall. Officers can volunteer to be present on elementary campuses during the day, and be paid overtime.”
— In Washington, D.C., the Department of Homeland Security announced the inaugural members of the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board, a group of school safety experts and education leaders that will provide advice and recommendations on practical ways to enhance K-12 school safety and security.
— In Texas, the Texas Education Agency is launching the Sentinel program that “helps districts identify, assess and mitigate risks to students and staff.” Created with input from 30 superintendents, the system is “equipped with a mass communication feature that can transfer information out when emergencies happen.”