— In New Mexico, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico held that the statements of a student to an assistant principal about possessing a knife on school property were presumptively inadmissible in a delinquency proceeding. The statute, NMSA 1978, Section 32A-2-14(F) “establishes a rebuttable presumption that any confessions…made by a child thirteen or fourteen years old to a person in a position of authority are inadmissible.” The court held that school could compel answers from a student for the purposes of school discipline, but that the statute would constrain the use of the statements in a criminal proceeding. State v. Cesar B.
— In Massachusetts, United States District Court ruled that the suspension of students for participating in an online chat group that bullied another student in connection with school sponsored activities did not violate the First Amendment. The court held that “[the] First Amendment does not interfere with basic school discipline.” The court noted that “bullying is the type of conduct that constitutes an invasion of the rights of others under Tinker.” Doe by and through Doe v. Hopkinton Public Schools
— In Colorado, the United States District Court ruled that a high school had authority to discipline a student for his anti-Semitic off-campus speech on his social media post. The student posted on Snapchat an anti-Semitic caption, “Me and the boys bout to exterminate the Jews,” on social media platform along with picture of his three classmates. The court held that “Tinker applies to off-campus speech.” The court noted that “[t]he post “was materially and substantially disruptive in that it interfered with the schools’ work and collided with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone.” C1.G. v. Siegfried
— In Texas, the Lake Travis Independent School District approved a resolution to create a district police force. Currently, Travis County deputies serve as school resource officers. The ISD will hire a police chief and five officers, along with purchasing uniforms, equipment, vehicles and other start-up items.
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