— In New York, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by parents of a student assaulted by fellow students on campus. The federal court held that although the lawsuit asserted a non-federal claim (a negligence claim based on state law), that “(t)his case, however, is not the usual case.” The court noted that, “it is well settled that a school owes a common-law duty to adequately supervise its students.” This duty, when combined with notice on the part of school officials of a pattern of violations of the school code of conduct by the assailants without any apparent intervention justified sending the case to trial to determine whether the school was liable for failure to protect the student from being bullied and physically attacked. F.H. v. The City of Yonkers
— In Virginia, officials in the Alexandria School Board are taking steps to extend its agreement with the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers. The Alexandria City Council defunded the SRO program in the 2021 budget. However, a spate of disruptions, including weapons-related incidents, prompted the return of the officers. The School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) Advisory Group has been tasked with issuing a Report with recommendations to revise the school safety program and an MOU proposal for police involvement.
— In Tennessee, officials in the Knox County Schools announced new security measures ahead of the 2022-23 school year. The “Safe Schools, Safe Students” initiative includes: recruiting military veterans as school security officers, staffing an anonymous tip line monitored seven days a week, upgrading body cameras for school security officers, an integrated visitor screening system, and upgraded video surveillance systems.
— In Ohio, school officials in Sunbury continue to meet with parents and members of the community to resolve whether or not teachers and staff should be armed. State law (House Bill 99) authorizes schools to make their own policy on the matter, allowing school systems to arm school teachers and staff with just 24 hours of training. Some are proposing instead that more school resource officers be deployed on campus.