In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a case brought against school officials by parents of a special needs student who experienced a series of violent attacks by fellow students. The parents asserted a race discrimination claim under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. (42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.). Based on the facts, the court held that schools can be liable under Title VI “where a student faces harassment at school that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive…[that it] undermines and detracts from the victims’ educational experience, [such] that the victim [is] effectively denied equal access to an institution’s resources and opportunities.” Henry v. Sch. Dist. of Philadelphia
— In California, the trustees of the Hayward Unified School District voted unanimously to eliminate the school resource officer program. The trustees pledged to “develop new protocols, provide additional training to staff and forge new community partnerships to meet the safety needs of our school communities.”
— In Illinois, the Chicago Public Schools have announced Phase II of its plan to reduce the presence of school resource officers on its campuses. In August 2020, Phase I of the plan was announced, reducing the funding of the SRO program and beginning the removal of police officers from 17 of the city’s public high schools. Phase II involves the creation of safety partnerships with community organizations to create new “trauma-informed safety approaches.”
— In Ohio, parents with students in the Worthington School district have decided to take the Worthington School Board to court after its decision to remove school resource officers from its campuses.