— In Florida, the District Court of Appeal of Florida upheld the adjudication of a juvenile for “written threats to kill or do bodily harm,” in a case involving a social media message. The juvenile posted a violent image on Snapchat and sent it to a friend with text at the bottom that said, “Don’t go to school tomorrow.” The appellate court agreed with the lower court that the juvenile “intended the Snapchat as a threat, and the recipient would have understood it to be a threat based on the information revealed at trial.” Significantly, the appellate court ruled that the state statute criminalizing transmission of threats to conduct mass shootings or acts of terrorism was not unconstitutionally overbroad and did not infringe juvenile’s right to free speech. “Because (Florida law) deals only with “threats” to commit a violent act, it does not violate the juvenile’s First Amendment rights.” B.W.B. v. State of Florida
— In Kentucky, “schools could bring in armed veterans and retired police officers to patrol campuses under a measure that advanced through the state Senate Education Committee Thursday. Senate Bill 2 would allow districts to bring in so-called “guardians.” They would be trained to protect school campuses, especially in active shooter situations. They could be paid by districts or work on a volunteer basis.”
— In Iowa, the legislature is considering a school safety policy that would allow teachers and staff to carry guns in school. “Staff who carry guns under the bill would be granted qualified immunity in cases of “reasonable force.”” House File 2586 would also “require the state’s largest districts to employ security officers or school resource officers in high school buildings unless the district’s school board votes against it.”
— In California, Assembly Bill 3038 “would require K-12 schools statewide to have at least one armed officer, also known as a school resource officer or SRO, on campus during regular school hours and other times students are present.” The data show that California campuses have “experienced 96 school shootings between 2018 and 2023.”