— In Louisiana, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana reversed the dismissal of a case involving a teacher who was “suddenly and violently attacked by minor child… who was a third grade student at the school.” The injuries arose out of a series of concerning behaviors by a student who “was prone to sudden, unprovoked, angry, violent outbursts.” On the same day the teacher was victimized, the student “caused another student injury when he hit the student while eating, which caused the student’s cheek to be punctured with a fork.” The teacher filed suit, alleging that “the Board was vicariously liable for the acts and/or omissions of its administrators and employees…(and) that the Board’s administrators and employees’ flagrant disregard for the risks posed by E.L. were intentional and within the ambit of their assigned duties.” The lower court dismissed the case, holding that the school officials were entitled to immunity, namely, that the claims against the Board are barred by (state law), and (the teacher) has not alleged sufficient facts to make these claims fall under an exception and will not be able to do so.” The appellate court reversed because state law, effectively waives immunity “where the plaintiff’s petition alleged the defendants intended to injure him or should have known his injury was substantially certain to follow, the merit of his claim was a factual determination to be considered upon a motion for summary judgment or a trial on the merits.” Therefore, the injured teacher “stated a cause of action against the Board.” Bernier v. St. Tammany Parish School Board
— In Michigan, schools across the state are suing the Michigan legislature for setting “aside $321 million for safety and mental health initiatives in local schools as part of the state budget approved last month, but (with) strings attached to the earmark.” The lawsuit alleges that “legislators unconstitutionally leveraged essential funds by requiring schools waive certain legal protections to receive their cut of appropriations.”
— A new empirical study on behavioral threat assessments in schools reports that “nearly every public K-12 school in the United States used a behavioral threat assessment management (BTAM) team.” However, “many schools do not have supporting written materials.”
— Nationally, “Arkansas, Tennessee, and Utah are the first states to enact laws that require public schools to teach children as young as 5 the basics of gun safety and how to properly store guns in the home. Only Utah’s law allows students to opt out of the lesson if requested by parents or guardians.”