— In Tennessee, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the liability of a school district under Title IX for its deliberate indifference to threats made against a student and her family after she reported student-on-student threats and harassment. The case arose when a fellow-student coerced the victim into a classroom where a sexual assault took place. Another fellow-student recorded the incident and placed it upon social media. School officials initially worked with the parent of the victim and the police department. However, later telling the student that in the face of continued harassment from other students and the continued circulation of video on social media, that the parent should “take it up with the detective.” Both the trial court and the appellate court found that “under Title IX, schools can face liability for “deliberate indifference to known acts of student-on-student sexual harassment where the harasser is under the school’s disciplinary authority.” Under this standard “indifference claims have two facets: “before” claims, regarding the school’s conduct before the student victims were harassed, and “after” claims, concerning the school’s conduct after the student victims were harassed.” The appellate court held that when a student shows: (1) that the school maintained a policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual misconduct,”(2) and that indifference creates a heightened risk of sexual harassment that was known or obvious, (3) and the risk of harassment is subject to the school’s control, and (4) as a result, the she suffers harassment that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it can be said to have deprived the plaintiff of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school, then the school is liable under Title IX. S.C. v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville.
— In Tennessee, special emphasis is being placed upon crisis intervention training with school employees. “Crisis intervention training focuses on showing first responders how to de-escalate situations and how to identify substance use disorders or other kinds of behavioral challenges. The goal of the training is to improve the outcome of a mental crisis.”
— In California, the Santa Rosa City School Board is implementing a pilot program to bring school resource officers back to its campuses. “Several students told board members they surveyed their classmates and found that 90% of the more than 570 students surveyed want to bring police back to campus, permanently.”
— In Alabama, police officers deployed in the Calera schools in Shelby County are teaching vape cessation classes for students with addictions. The voluntary “eight-week course is called the ‘Not on Tobacco Program’, and covers everything from the dangers of vaping to the harmful effects and how to quit.”