— In New York, the New York Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents who claimed that educators “failed to prevent sexual abuse perpetrated by a teacher.” The teacher in question, “was on ‘probationary’ status” during which “between 50 and 100 (incidents of alleged abuse occurred) over the course of two school years, inter alia, in a classroom and the school parking lot during school hours.” The lower court dismissed the lawsuit, agreeing with the school that “the School District did not have actual or constructive notice of the teacher’s alleged propensity to engage in sexual abuse.” The appellate court reversed, holding that “(a)lthough an employer cannot be held vicariously liable for torts committed by an employee who is acting solely for personal motives unrelated to the furtherance of the employer’s business, the employer may still be held liable under theories of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of the employee.” Here, “the teacher’s personnel file contains only a single evaluation from the school during the relevant period, and multiple former students testified at their respective depositions that the teacher’s inappropriate relationship with the plaintiff was readily apparent.” Therefore, the school officials “failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether (they) took appropriate measures to evaluate the teacher’s employment and fitness at the time she was hired.” Brauner v. Locust Valley Central School District
— In Minnesota, the legislature is proposing a more rigorous school safety policy on public schools. SF 1318 “would require every school district to have school safety initiatives in their 10-year building maintenance plans. It would also make new funding available for districts to install things like bullet-resistant doors and windows as well as remote lockdown activation systems to streamline communication with law enforcement.”
— In Alabama, the legislature is proposing a change in policy on campus safety at private schools. Senate Bill 4 authorizes private schools to contract with a police department or sheriff’s office for a school resource officer. “The bill has passed the House and Senate. It now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for her review and signature.”
— In Arizona, House Bill 2074 proposes to eliminate the shortage of available police officers to serve as school resource officers. It would “qualify retired police officers to be stationed at K-12 schools.”