— In Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that the educational financing system of the Pennsylvania Department of Education violates the rights of students to receive, “a meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically, which requires that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education.” The court held that Education Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution creates a duty to “provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.” PA. CONST. art. III, § 14. State officials failed to, “proffer() a compelling government interest to justify the disparities between low-wealth and high-wealth districts.” The court declared that local school districts “credibly testified to lacking the very resources state officials have identified as essential to student achievement, some of which are as basic as safe and temperate facilities in which children can learn.” William Penn School District v. Pennsylvania Department of Education
— In South Carolina, officials in the Charleston Police Department are making public their assessment of the revisions in training their officers five years after the shooting in a Parkland, Florida high school that killed 14 high school students and three educators. After Parkland, “officers are trained to active shooter situations …to immediately go to the threat.” The goal is “to eliminate the threat…to keep the kids safe.” The revisions also include training in “help(ing) students who may have mental health issues or issues at home…(that) can help stop school shootings from ever happening.”
— In Minnesota, the St. Paul school superintendent announced that the district is returning police to some schools after the stabbing death of a 15-year-old in the hallways of a high school. The district pulled school resource officers from St. Paul schools after the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
— In Arizona, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction announced that school districts applying for state safety grants must prioritize armed police officers over school counselors. Arizona’s School Safety Grant Program has been around since 2019, allowing schools to get state funds for counselors, social workers or school resource officers. Going forward, the State “will deny requests for new counselors from schools that don’t already have armed officers.”