• In New York, the Schenectady City School District is struggling to implement its restorative justice school discipline policies. The new policies aim to handle incidents with constructive rather than punitive measures. The tide of parental concerns about student safety and school disruptions is spilling over into school board meetings.
• In Tennessee, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamilton County School Board have been struggling to find SROs. They are considering hiring and training private security officers to do the job. The stop-gap officers would patrol inside the school facilities and on the grounds but would not be involved in discipline or provide counseling to students, which is what their school resource officers do.
• In Illinois, an interagency agreement between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department is redefining the roles of school resource officers in the schools. According to the provisions of the agreement, officers will no longer be allowed to intervene in student discipline. (Read agreement here)
• In Indiana, the Noblesville School District is installing vaping detectors in its efforts to stop teenagers from vaping in three of its buildings. The sensors work similarly to a smoke alarm and will notify school leaders when vaping is detected.