— In New York, the Supreme Court of New York denied the motion of educators to dismiss the lawsuit of a student for sexual abuse by a teacher/coach. The court instead ruled that the student was entitled to summary judgment. The court rejected defenses by the school district, including, (1) the student reached the age of consent during the period of abuse; (2) the student filed the lawsuit too late and that the state Child Victims Act did not revive it; (3) school liability was mitigated by the failure of the student to promptly report the incidents to school officials; and (4) liability was mitigated because “instances of kissing and sexual intercourse took place off campus.” The court ruled that, “Schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.” “None of the legislative history suggests that the Legislature intended to limit revival [of claims]… after the relevant statute of limitations has run.” “There is no legal support for the proposition that [educators’] duty to provide supervision of its students, or its duty to supervise its employees, is delegable to its students such that they are under a duty to mitigate by promptly reporting a teacher’s sexual abuse.” “[T]he location of the abuse is not dispositive in that schools may be held liable where those acts are preceded by inappropriate behavior that occurred on campus.” SR v. Gates Chili Board of Education
— In Wisconsin, the legislature is considering two proposals to enhance campus safety. Assembly Bill 69 requires that if 100 incidents occur during a semester and at least 25 of those incidents result in an arrest, a school must employ an armed school resource officer by the following school year. Assembly Bill 53 will require schools to collect and report information about crimes. The State Assembly has approved both AB 69 and AB 53, calling AB 53 “a school transparency bill [because] parents deserve to know if their children’s schools are failing.”
— In Tennessee, Senate Bill 141/House Bill 127 would allow in emergency situations “school resource officers, school security officers, and any other law enforcement officers who are certified to do so, [to] apply “mechanical restraint[s]” to special education students.” First, officers will have to go through a “behavior intervention training” program.
— In Ohio, the Groveport Madison School Board is considering a comprehensive campus safety plan in response to gun incidents that have parents calling for more aggressive policies. “The safety plan lists metal/weapon detectors and detection wands as additional strategies, along with recommendations for more social workers, safety and security staff, school resource officers, and school nurses.”