— In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of an injury case, sending it back to trial on the issue of the failure of the school to properly supervise its students. The injury occurred when the student tripped and fell on a roadway defect that abutted a curb in a public street adjacent to the school on the way to school. The lower court granted summary judgment dismissing the case because the injury occurred away from school. In reversing the lower court, the appellate court held that “schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision… A school’s duty to supervise is generally viewed as being coextensive with and concomitant to its physical custody of and control over the child, and therefore, when that custody ceases because the child has passed out of the orbit of its authority in such a way that the parent is perfectly free to reassume control over the child’s protection, the school’s custodial duty also ceases…(But) while a school has no duty to prevent injury to schoolchildren released in a safe and anticipated manner, the school breaches a duty when it releases a child without further supervision into a foreseeably hazardous setting it had a hand in creating.” Reversal was required because a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether school operators breached duty of supervision because the roadway defect was located in area designated by school for pick-up and drop-off of children. Levy v. City of New York
— In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services recently announced more than $30 million in grants and matching funds to support school security and school resource officers.
— In North Carolina, the Pitt County School Board unanimously approved the emergency use of naloxone in schools. “The latest statistics show that between 2021 and 2022, Pitt County saw a steep increase in overall overdose deaths, increasing more than 65% during that time period.”
— In Alabama, “Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the opening of the application process for the 2024 Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Awards. This award program aims to identify and recognize excellence and current trends in school safety across the state.”