— In New York, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division ruled that schools can be liable when they fail to provide “an appropriate level of supervision.” This ruling reversed the lower court that dismissed the lawsuit of a student who was injured when “the tip of his left ring finger was closed in a metal door…for approximately three minutes.” A student lunch monitor, responsible for the opening and closing of the door, was unaware of the injury until “other students banged on the door for approximately three minutes before the student lunch monitor opened the door. At that point, the tip of the infant plaintiff’s finger was severed.” The appellate court held that “(s)chools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.” The appellate court noted that, “(a)lthough there are certain accidents that occur in such a short span of time that even the most intense supervision could not have prevented them and any lack of supervision is not the proximate cause of the injury… this is not one of those cases.” The case could not be dismissed because the schools own statements, “demonstrated that there was no adult monitoring the area where the accident took place and that, at the time of the accident, an assistant principal in the cafeteria was in the midst of calling for more assistance.” Fleming v. City of New York.
— In Utah, policymakers are considering legislation that would require “(e)ach public, private and charter school …to have at least one of the following: a school resource officer, a contracted armed security guard or a volunteer school guardian.” The proposal is part of “a list of recommendations …(to) prevent school shootings and protect students if one does occur.”
— In Minnesota “(t)he mayor of Windom and the city council sent a strong letter to the Red Rock Ridge alternative school in town recently saying that they do not believe that the school’s decision to remove the SRO is a wise one.” Alternative schools exist to provide educational services to students who are sent there for offenses involving drugs, alcohol, weapons, violence, or order of the court. Apparently, the decision to remove the police was “because of legal advice.”
— In Alabama, the Calera City Council is implementing the Calera Accountability and Success through Education (CASE) program in response to “growing issues surrounding youth vaping.” The program seeks to educate students on the dangers of a great number of concerning behaviors including “illegal drug use, bullying, sexting and sex-exhortation.”