— In Maryland, the United States District Court ruled that a school district and educators were not immune from a lawsuit brought by parents for the sexual abuse of their six-year old daughter committed by two of her first-grade classmates while at school. The court held that, “a school is under a special duty to exercise reasonable care to protect a pupil from harm.” Both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Maryland tort law provided a basis for liability because the educators had notice of the abuse. The court rejected arguments that the Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Liability Protection Act provided protection from liability. The court agreed that the federal law, “immunizes any teacher, including a principal or administrator, for harm caused [to a student] by an act or omission of the teacher on behalf of the school if the teacher was acting within the scope of the teacher’s employment or responsibilities to a school.” But the court ruled that “the immunity, however, is not absolute.” As to Title IX, the Coverdell Act, “does not apply to any misconduct for which the defendant has been found to have violated a Federal or State civil rights law.” As to Maryland tort law, “the Coverdell Act states (that) a State law that makes the school or governmental entity liable for the acts or omissions of its teachers to the same extent as an employer is liable for the acts or omissions of its employees.” The court held that Maryland Statute CJ §5-518 defeats immunity for the school district. Robinson v. Board of Education of Washington County
— In Nevada, the legislature is looking to repeal the Restorative Justice Law, which was passed in 2019.” Assembly Bill 285 will authorize the removal or suspension of “a student who engages in certain infractions, such as violent behavior or bringing drugs to school.” Lawmakers are responding to “an overwhelming number of educators now wanting [restorative justice] removed.”
— In Illinois, the Evanston Township High School District is considering an new policy to “grant the Evanston Police Department access to over 500 [high school] surveillance cameras in the event of an emergency.” The City Council has approved the policy in an intergovernmental agreement.
— In Tennessee, the Governor is proposing sweeping changes to enhance school safety across Tennessee, requiring all K-12 public schools to keep their exterior doors locked or risk losing escalating amounts of state funding with each violation.