— In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court dismissed a claim based upon the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, holding that educators did not create a dangerous conditions that led to the injury of a student on campus. The incident involved the stabbing of a student – during the lunch period – “by a fellow student used a metal knife.” The school metal detectors and x-ray machines “were malfunctioning that day.” The student, who sustained “permanent physical damage and disfigurement,” alleged a “state-created danger claim,” e.g., that the school “knew of prior incidents in which students had attempted to bring weapons into the school, either knew or should have known that these security devices were not working properly, and, despite this, failed to fix the machines or take other precautions to prevent students from bringing weapons into school.” The court applied the rule of law that relies upon four elements to determine liability. 1) Whether the harm ultimately caused was foreseeable and fairly direct; 2) Whether a school acted with a degree of culpability that shocks the conscience; 3) Whether a relationship between the school and the student existed such that the student was a foreseeable victim of the perpetrator’s acts; and 4) Whether the school affirmatively used its authority in a way that created a danger to the student or that rendered the student more vulnerable to danger than had the school not acted at all. In dismissing the case the court ruled that the status quo of the campus environment before the incident was such that the decision making of the school did not result in “a departure from that status quo.” In other words, the status quo was an “already-dangerous environment.” The student was free to refile a lawsuit in state court alleging liability on state law claims. Montanez-Johnson v. Chester Upland School District
— In Virginia, the Salem City Schools, are deploying “a security system at Salem High School that uses artificial intelligence to detect weapons.” The Corum AI System, “works by using AI to monitor the school’s existing camera feeds for any sign of weapons. If a threat is detected, the system notifies a designated group of staff and administrators, as well as members of the Salem Police Department. Anyone who receives the alert can review the footage on their phone and assess the situation.”
— In Missouri, the legislature approved a proposal to “mandate a near complete ban of cell phone use in public schools during the school day.” Senate Bill 68 is “part of a major school safety bill … which also makes provisions for things like active shooter training, medical emergency response plans and building security.”
— In Michigan, Rochester Community Schools are implementing “a new platform of technologies” to enhance campus safety – crisis alert badges. Under the policy, school employees “will be wearing badges that have a button on them, and simply pressing that button will engage an entire system of mapping and emergency responses.”