– In Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals applied immunity to dismiss a lawsuit against a school district brought by a former student who was sexually assaulted on school grounds by a classmate while attending the school. Applying state law, the court held that “a school district is generally protected from liability for negligent acts under the doctrine of sovereign immunity unless an exception to sovereign immunity applies or the public entity waives its immunity through the procurement of liability insurance covering tort claims.” In the latter scenario, “immunity is waived only to the extent of and for the specific purposes covered by the insurance purchased.” The court ruled that, “whether an insurance policy waives sovereign immunity is expressly dictated, and limited, by the terms of the insurance policy.” Here, immunity applied in the lawsuit because the school district was covered by two insurance policies, but “both policies expressly disclaimed any waiver of sovereign immunity.” State ex rel. Sch. Dist. of Kansas City 33 v. Zhang
— In Texas, collaboration between City of Nederland and the Nederland Independent School District will deploy a school resource officer for all schools in the district. There is a cost-sharing component to the agreement. The city would provide 100 percent of the cost of the officers for Aug. 1, 2023. to July 31, 2024, and again from Aug. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. After that the cost is split.
— In California, a Report by the Orange County Grand Jury found Orange County schools are “doing a good job” in maintaining safe campuses for students in case of a school shooting, though had numerous recommendations for improvement. Recommendations include assessing the need for additional school resource officers, reaching out to appropriate community partners to facilitate funding for more officers, and improving building and equipment infrastructure.
— In Colorado, school resource officers will return to Denver Public Schools after the school board voted to reverse a decision it made in 2020. The board’s decision on followed months of intense debate about how to best protect schools from violence. Educators found that “since the board removed school resource officers, there has been a significant rise in real and fake guns found in schools.”