– In Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals rejected a First Amendment defense by a student who told his middle school classmates that he would shoot up girls’ basketball game, “cut the cameras,” and “kill people.” In affirming the adjudication of the student for making terrorist threats, the appellate court ruled that the protections afforded speech by the First Amendment are not absolute. ““True threats” – statements where a speaker means to communicate a serious expression of intent to commit act of unlawful violence to particular individual or group of individuals – are unprotected under the First Amendment.” The court held that even if the student intended his remarks to be a joke, the crime is proven when the statement places others in fear that the threat will be carried out. More than one classmate believed the threat and reported it to school officials. D.J.T.S. v. Juvenile Officer, 665 S.W.3d 408 (Mo. Ct. App. 2023)
— In Ohio, officials from the Danville schools are collaborating with the Danville Police Department and the Ohio Dept. of Public Safety and Dept. of Public Education to provide instruction for students school safety. Students in grades nine through 12 are required to take a special curriculum crafted by the state’s Dept. of Public Safety and Dept. of Public Education. Elementary students receive the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program as well as Internet online safety.
— In Michigan, state officials and the University of Michigan are launching the Michigan School Safety Initiative. The statewide initiative, designed to enhance school safety and prevent school violence, will provide training and assistance to local schools regarding evidence-based best practices. “State support will allow U-M teams to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of Michigan schools, evaluate the effectiveness of existing school safety actions and convene a Michigan-specific school safety advisory board.”
— In Ohio, school safety is one of the top three crime concerns for residents in Kettering. A survey taken by the Kettering Police Department revealed that protecting children in schools was one of the three crimes residents worry most about, trailing only burglary and drug problems.