— In New Mexico, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico reversed the dismissal of a case involving the search of a student’s backpack. The appellate court reversed the trial court because the search, conducted by a school resource officer, “presented an emergency situation in which it was objectively reasonable for him to conduct the search without first going to a judicial officer and obtaining a search warrant.” The incident arose during the school day when the student “told at least two other students that he had the firearm in his backpack and showed them the weapon. Several students later informed one of the school’s assistant principals that Child had a firearm in his backpack.” The assistant principal, in turn, notified one of the school resource officers (SROs).” This officer “and two other SROs proceeded to the classroom—Child’s second class of the day—where Child was then located, apprehended Child, and brought him back to the school’s administrative office. While departing the classroom, (The SRO) picked up some of Child’s belongings that were on his desk, stuffed them in Child’s backpack, which was also near his desk, and took the backpack to the administrative office … At the administrative office, (the SRO) searched Child’s backpack without a warrant to “see if [Child] had a firearm.” (The SRO) did not open all of the backpack’s compartments but, while his hand was in one of them, felt the outline of a firearm resting in another pocket of the backpack. (The SRO), being then assured the firearm was secured, stopped searching and awaited the issuance of a search warrant.” The trial court agreed with the student that the “initial warrantless intrusion into the bag was unconstitutional.” The appellate court reversed: “The circumstances confronting (the SRO) presented an emergency situation.” “Exigency is determined by an objective reasonableness standard and is determined by whether a reasonable, well-trained officer would have made the judgment this officer made.” “The very real dangers of deadly weapons on school grounds are obvious.” “Given that Child had been detained in the middle of his classroom, in full view of other students, it was objectively reasonable for (the SRO) to seek to immediately confirm that he had in fact seized the firearm and that it was not then accessible—in some alternate location—to other students who could move, hide, or otherwise use it.” State v. Maximillian H.
— In Florida, the legislature amended a 2024 law that “required every door on school campuses to remain locked during the day. The mandate quickly raised concerns from educators and administrators. It effectively put many schools into constant lockdown mode, creating unnecessary complications with no specific threat present … Only exterior entry points must remain locked under the updated law.”
— In Michigan, the school safety hotline, OK2Say, is prompting a record number of tips. “Michigan’s OK2Say school violence prevention program received a record 11,671 confidential tips in 2024, a 20% increase over 2023.” School official say that “students are growing increasingly comfortable leaving tips via voicemail, texts, a website or a mobile phone app.”
— In Maryland, the Baltimore City Schools are installing new AI technology in schools to enhance campus safety. Its new “Convergint’s STEP Up for Schools initiative” is designed to upgrade “security in underserved schools worldwide.”