— In Kansas, the United States District Court held that a student, sexually abused by a school resource officer, was legally entitled to a trial on her claim that the school district and county sheriff’s office knew and were deliberately indifferent of the increased risk that the SRO would sexually harass her. The key to this result, was the finding by the court that the officials failed to conduct Title IX training. Neither the MOU nor the school’s standard operating procedures required Title IX training. The court observed that primarily, “Title IX imposes liability against a federal funding recipient when it displays deliberate indifference to known acts of sexual harassment that effectively cause or subject students to harassment.” Significantly, the court added that a school can also be liable “for its own actions when it violates Title IX through an official policy, which can include a policy of deliberate indifference to providing adequate training or guidance that is obviously necessary.” The court held that a dismissal of the lawsuit would be improper because additional facts in the case suggest that officials had notice of the misconduct of the SRO, which “permits a reasonable jury to establish liability. Alexis Swearingen v. Pleasanton Unified School District
— In New Hampshire, the Lebanon School District will retain its school resource officer next school year, despite a push from a faction of school board members to discontinue funding of the position. School principals told the board that they feel more comfortable having a police officer who understands the students when responding to an student-related incident than another officer in the police department.
— In Indiana, the school resource officers in Carmel High School are beginning to add class visits to their other duties. Their lectures will cover topics such as life skills, drug abuse, and mental health supports.
— In Washington State, a former-administrator in the Seattle Public Schools is being accused of failing to prevent an assault by refusing to cooperate with a police investigation on campus. The administrator impeded the investigation, allowing the suspect to escape. The school board has removed school resource officers (SROs) from campus. City police report more hostility from Seattle Public Schools (SPS) staff when responding to incidents.