— In Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that city officials did not violate federal law when their negligence allowed a police officer impersonator to assault and falsely imprison students. The court held that claims based on the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act were not designed to address the negligence. The court concluded that the SRO program, fraught with poor implementation, should be the subject of state-based claims. M.J. by & through S.J. v. Akron City School District Board of Education
— In Illinois, the school resource officer program has been temporarily suspended due to staffing shortages at the police department. The press release by school officials and the police department says the officers previously deployed to the schools will be reassigned. Educators say, “a resource officer is necessary in a school. They’re very helpful… resource officers were a good source of someone trusted [students] could go to and talk to if there was a problem.”
— In Virginia, the superintendent of the Alexandria City Public Schools has notified the school board that time is running out on providing a “contingency plan with regards to safety and security mitigations for our students and staff.” The Alexandria City Council voted to redirect nearly $800,000 in SRO funding toward student mental health resources. The superintendent proposes that the school district hire private security officers and retain through a new agreement police officers to work the perimeter of schools during the school day.
— In Arkansas, Conway School District officials are revising their school resource officer program. Instead of using a dedicated school resource officer at each campus, the new model will use multiple officers to cover all the schools. The officers will visit the schools as part of their regular, daily patrols.