— In Michigan, the United States Court of Appeals, affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to an administrator and a school resource officer in an excessive force lawsuit brought by a high school student. The student was forcibly removed from the school while attempting to reenter the building after school, dislocating and breaking his jaw. The court held that, “(the) use of force was unreasonable in violation of the Fourth Amendment. (The student) was not suspected of any serious crime, was not posing a threat at the time he was struck and was not resisting arrest. On those facts, (the officer’s) striking (the student) with such force as to break his jaw is gratuitous violence amounting to unreasonably excessive force under the Fourth Amendment…To be sure, school “administrators” have a “substantial interest in maintaining discipline in the classroom and on school grounds…(but the administrator) used an excessive amount of force to accomplish his interest.” E.W. v. Detroit Public School District
— A study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that during the pandemic, rates of violence and aggression against K-12 school personnel were high, despite most schools being remote during the survey. A third of teachers surveyed reported they experienced at least one incident of verbal and/or threatening violence from students during COVID. Those incidents included verbal threats, cyber bullying, intimidation, and sexual harassment. More than two in five school administrators reported verbal or threatening violence from parents during the pandemic.
— In Ohio, teachers in the state are speaking out against a bill that would allow schools to more easily arm teachers in school. In the proposed legislation (HB 99), teachers and staff would have to undergo 20 hours of training, plus four additional hours each year, 35 times less than the peace officer training requirement.
— In Michigan, state lawmakers are considering a school safety program that would put gunpowder-sniffing detection dogs into high schools around the state. If a pilot program is successful, then officials would extend the program to every Michigan high school. Each dog and trainer costs $80,000 per year for a school district.