— In Wisconsin, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin ruled that the “reasonableness, under all the circumstances” standard set forth in New Jersey v. T.L.O., (469 U.S. 325 (1985)), applies to the search of a non-student’s vehicle located on school grounds. The court agreed that ordinarily police are constrained to search a vehicle unless there is probable cause to believe it contains evidence of criminal activity. Even so, the court found that the T.L.O. standard applies, “regardless of that person’s status as a student or non-student, at least when the subject of a search is reasonably believed to pose a threat to school safety.” State v. Vang
— In Congress, H.R.4606 has been introduced to help protect students and faculty in schools. The Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert Act, will require that all schools install silent panic alarms in all schools to immediately alert law enforcement of an active shooter situation. Other provisions of the legislation addresses the training of School Resource Officers.
— In North Carolina, the Wake County Public School System is seeking community feedback on its revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) with local law enforcement agencies. The proposed agreement clarifies when law enforcement can intervene in cases of student misconduct and outlines increased communication with law enforcement and the community. The draft agreement spells out five levels of student misconduct, followed by an explanation of which incidents require school resource officer intervention.
— In Illinois, Safe2Help Illinois — developed by the state’s emergency management department, terrorism task force and board of education, will begin in schools in Fall 2021. The $1 million program will give children a confidential method of reporting information on bullying, suicidal emotions, and campus violence. The information submitted will be shared with officials at the relevant school district, mental health professionals or local law enforcement