— In Tennessee, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee reversed and dismissed a personal injury case brought by a student who was struck in the eye by a mechanical pencil while attending a sponsored after- school program. A classmate was flicking a pencil back and forth when it flew into the air, injuring the student. The court stated that, in negligence lawsuits, students injured by schools “must establish (1) a duty of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff; (2) conduct by the defendant falling below the standard of care amounting to a breach of that duty; (3) an injury or loss; (4) causation in fact; and (5) proximate or legal cause.” The court dismissed the lawsuit because “the law, (does) not require (schools) to anticipate the countless unexpected student acts that take place each day in our schools. Rather, we hold (schools) to the duty of protecting students from reasonably foreseeable dangerous conditions, including the dangerous acts of fellow students.” This was not a reasonably foreseeable dangerous condition. Therefore, there was no duty of care. Hopper v. Obion County School System
— In Ohio, House Bill 99 has been enacted, reducing the hours school officials need to train to carry a gun in school. The law reduces the training to 24 hours for initial approval. Educators are then required to receive eight additional training hours every year afterward. They must also submit to an annual criminal records check.
— In Minnesota, the Forest Lake Area School District plans to install interior and exterior security cameras on all school buses. The goal is to document drivers who ignore the stop-sign-arm on buses. The cameras also will record misconduct by students.
— In Iowa, surveys showed students in the Cedar Rapids Schools felt safer after changes in the School Resource Officer program. The most visible policy change was having the officers wear “soft” uniforms. The most substantive change was to shift the job duties of officers away from disciplinary actions. All data shows the positive effects of the changes. Arrests of students dropped dramatically. 90% of High School students responded feeling “Somewhat or Very Safe” because of an SRO in the building last school year. More students also reported feeling “Very Comfortable” around an SRO, going from 23% to 45%. And a greater percentage of students, 45% versus 22%, reported having “Very Positive Interactions” with the SRO. Staff and family surveys showed more than 90% felt safe and positive about the SRO program.