— In Wisconsin, the United States District Court upheld the dress code of two schools that disciplined students for wearing shirts bearing images of guns while attending school. One shirt bore the image of a revolver with the words, “Smith & Wesson Firearms – Made in the USA Since 1852.” The other shirt bore the words “I’m a patriot” and “Weapons are part of my religion.” The court held that, “the constitutional rights of students in public school are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings…and must be applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.” The court ruled that the school rules were viewpoint neutral and reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns in a closed forum. N.J. by Jacob v. Sonnabend.
— In Virginia, the Alexandria City Council voted to terminate its School Resource Officer Program and reallocate funding to mental health resources. None of this can occur until a plan is implemented to keep campuses safe. The school district is working with the police department to structure a new agreement.
— In California, the Fresno Unified School Board is considering the renewal of its agreement with the Fresno Police. As community activists urge the removal of police, the surveys from parents, students, and educators continue to support the presence of police in schools. “Students said they ‘overwhelmingly’ would feel unsafe if police officers were removed from campuses.” “Administrators were strongest in their support of keeping student resource officers on campus; staff and parents also expressed support for the SROs, but also pointed to problems that need addressing and areas of improvement, such as more training for cultural awareness.”
— In New York, parents in New York City gathered to publicly protest the absence of police on campus after a student was killed in a campus shooting. The city has promised to deploy police to the schools by June 2022.