— In Pennsylvania, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the adjudication of delinquency of a student for terroristic threats for a state law that forbids communicating, “either directly or indirectly, a threat to…(1) commit any crime of violence with intent to terrorize another….[or] otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience.” 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2706(a)(1) – (a)(3). The student post in the Internet said, “I don’t really have any friends and if I would to perhaps shoot the fucking school up right now I would be looked at as crazy, right?” The court ruled that, although the student claimed he was just expressing frustration, he “acted with at least reckless disregard in causing terror or serious public inconvenience to his fellow classmates and/or the administrative and security staff of the school.” Int. of K.M.M.B.
— In Colorado, the Poudre School District Board of Education voted to continue the funding for its school resource officer program. The board is revising the school safety policies to more clearly define the role of the officers.
— In Rhode Island, the legislature has enacted House Bill 5555, the Harold M. Metts School Safety Act of 2021, which prohibits people from bringing guns onto school property. The only exceptions are for school security personnel, peace officers and retired law enforcement members. Hawaii, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming still allow concealed-carry exceptions in schools.
— In Maryland, The Howard County Board of Education has approved the School Resource Officer contract for the upcoming school year. The agreement requires training for SROs in Restorative Justice Practices, Culturally Responsive Practices, Racial Equity, Disability Awareness, De-escalation Practices, and other training specifically aimed at addressing racial, ethnic, and class disparities in how students are treated.