— In Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals held that school officials were not entitled to governmental immunity from liability arising out of the death of an eight-year-old student, who took his own life after severe bullying at the hands of other students. The court found that the state immunity laws did not cover the reckless behavior of the educators who misreported the occurrences of violence, failed to discipline violent students, and consciously disregarded the “known or obvious risk of harm” that students faced daily. Meyers v. Cincinnati Board of Education
— In Connecticut, a special committee of the New Haven Public Schools Board of Education completed its review of the school resource program and will formally recommend the continuation of the use of police officers. The findings of the committee included the conclusion that, “[i]t doesn’t appear that SROs [school resource officers] are a problem.” A survey of roughly 1,600 students, parents and school employees found that the majority of respondents thought SROs were important and should remain in schools.
— In Tennessee, the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project, funded by the state Department of Education, and aided by the University of Tennessee, is helping schools implement the Response to Instruction and Intervention-Behavior program (RTI²-B). RTI²-B address students’ behavioral and social needs through a system in which schools rate every child on a Student Risk Screening Scale to identify students who are at a high risk for internalizing adverse childhood experiences and therefore need more attention.
— In Massachusetts, the Governor signed a police reform bill into law that creates a system for certifying police officers in Massachusetts and gives a new civilian-led panel the ability to revoke their licenses for misconduct. Provisions of the law prohibit school personnel and school resource officers from sharing certain information about students with law enforcement, including whether they are believed to be in a gang “unless it is germane to a specific unlawful incident.”