Safety Law News for February 20, 2020

In Washington State, the Court of Appeals of Washington affirmed the adjudication of a student for a fourth degree assault charge, when she struck in the face several times another student with a backpack.  The appellate court agreed with the juvenile court’s rejection of the student’s self-defense claim because the force used in retaliation “was more than was necessary.” State of Washington v. V.A.M.

In Washington State, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a parent who argued that a school policy limiting his communications with school district employees was a violation of his First Amendment rights. The appellate court ruled that the policy was a reasonable, content neutral, and viewpoint neutral effort to manage the father’s relentless and unproductive communications with school officials.  L. F. v. Lake Washington Sch. Dist. #414

• In Georgia, school resource officers from the Floyd County Schools and Rome City Schools have formed the School Resource Officer Consortium.  The purpose of the collaboration is to learn from each other as they serve both school systems.

• In Ohio, the mayor for the City of Warren, along with a school resource officer are implementing an outreach program with students whereby a student is acknowledged for good behavior and sworn in as honorary police officer.  A second-grader received the first award before a student assembly.