— In California, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the order of wardship of a 13 year-old student who was found with a gun in his backpack at school. The appellate court agreed with the student that under California law there is a presumption of incapacity for children under 14, such that it must be shown by “clear and convincing evidence that the child appreciated the wrongfulness of the conduct when it was committed.” But the appellate court found that “the fact that (the student) apparently revealed his possession of the firearm to another student but then denied possessing it to the school safety officer only reinforces the inference that (the student) understood the wrongfulness of his actions.” People v. L.S., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court.
— In California, teachers and parents in the Fresno Unified School District are calling for increased safety measures. Restorative justice discipline reforms are the target of the criticisms. Parents waited for five hours at a school board meeting to get the chance to tell trustees and district officials what they want to see change at their kids’ schools. The Fresno Teacher Association posted a letter on Facebook, citing frustration that teachers are not, “made aware of (students’) violent tendencies.” The letter concludes that, “(w)e have only your broad words of assurances without any concrete evidence that anything is being done to improve our school’s safety. It is time for a change so we can stop feeling like we are on our own.”
— In Texas, the Governor is directing state school security and education officials to start conducting “in-person, unannounced, random intruder detection audits on school districts” to find weak access points and see how quickly staff can enter a school building without being stopped. The order comes after the Uvalde school shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead. The Governor is asking the legislature to convene a pair of special legislative committees to address the issues of school safety.
— In Florida, Clay County officials want to keep the property tax for school safety. The property tax increase, passed in 2018 for 4 years only after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus shooting, is set to expire. The school district used the additional funds to create its own school police force, putting an officer at every school. County voters will decide.