— In Illinois, the Appellate Court of Illinois, upheld the adjudication of a student for “driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs, namely cannabis” in violation of state law. The student was found with a “skinny, white, rolled” object in his wallet that he told school officials was a “marijuana cigarette” after a search by an administrator after performing poorly in the road test in his drivers’ education class. Prior to the search, the administrator, nurse, another administrator, and the teacher, who first reported the concerning behavior of the student, collaborated. An assessment was made and a decision reached to conduct the search of the student, followed by a report to the campus school resource officer. The SRO conducted a field sobriety test, which the student failed. The appellate court upheld the assessment process and the sufficiency of the evidence, ruling that, “the totality of the evidence was sufficient to prove (the student) guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. First, as acknowledged by (the student) on appeal, (the student) admitted to (the administrator) that he smoked marijuana the night before and was still feeling its effects…(The student’s) admission to being under the influence was corroborated by accounts of defendant’s physical condition from individuals with varying degrees of experience dealing with people under the influence of cannabis.” Village of Lincolnshire v. Olvera
— In North Carolina, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office is building rapport with students through sports. Its officers “schedule and run all of the basketball games” between officers – with school staff – against high school and middle school students. The outreach program is in its third year.
— In West Virginia, officials in Roanoke are utilizing artificial intelligence devices to enhance campus safety. Weapons detection systems using AI “combine powerful sensor technology with proven artificial intelligence (AI), security ecosystem integrations, and comprehensive venue analytics to ensure safer, more accurate threat detection at an unprecedented speed and volume.” The system “can screen up to 3,600 people per hour, providing faster threat detection compared to metal detectors.”
— In Colorado, Denver officials are continuing to investigate the failure of a school administrator to collaborate after a kidnapping attempt of an elementary student. The administrator was fired after delaying for one hour the reporting of the incident to other agencies as required by policy. The delay prevented school personnel from keeping students indoors because “teachers were not instructed to do so until about a full hour after the intrusion….(such that) students were taken outside for recess while the suspect remained at large.” The administrator had refused to follow school policy “on more than one occasion.