— In Oklahoma, the Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma upheld a liability verdict against a school for negligence and negligent supervision after an assault upon a student by a bully. The assault followed repeated bullying and verbal harassment by another student. Reports of this state of affairs were made “on multiple occasions,” to the victim’s teacher and to the school Principal. “No action was taken to stop (this) recurring behavior.” The school argued that the Principal “did not consider any prior incidents between (the victim) and (bully) to amount to “bullying,” (but)… teacher at the school testified after the assault that the “conflict between (the victim) and (bully) had been brewing for weeks.” Testimony established that the bully “walked up to (the victim) and immediately punched (him) in the chin… holding him in a headlock punching him in the forehead, after which (the bully) flipped (the victim) upside-down, tossed him headfirst onto the concrete and threw one final punch into the back of his head. All of this was observed by a teacher on duty to monitor students, who was seen on video, “standing stationary in the background through the majority of (the bully’s) physical assault … making no efforts to intervene until…she directed (another student) “to break it up.”” The law governing this lawsuit required the victim to prove (1) the school owed a duty owed to protect him from injury; (2) a failure to properly exercise or perform that duty; and (3) injuries that were the proximate result of the school’s failure to perform its duty. The appellate opined that, “foreseeability is the most important consideration (and) can extend to the actions of third parties…if it involves an unreasonable risk of harm to another through the foreseeable act of a third person.” The appellate court affirmed liability because, “the record supports (the victim’s) contention that multiple employees of the School District … were aware of (the) persistent bullying (and) the repeated attempts by (the victim), his parents, and his teacher …to report (the) persistent bullying … and clear threats of violence… (and) multiple incidents of harassment and bullying which were formally documented by school administration… further contributing to the foreseeability of (the bully’s) conduct.” Brown v. Muldrow Public Schools
— In Maryland, new guidelines for Active Shooter drills were released by the Maryland Center for School Safety. “The new guidelines are designed to prohibit trauma-inducing elements like imitation of gunfire or explosions. The guidelines also require school systems to notify parents in advance when students will be practicing what to do in the event of an active shooter in their buildings.”
— In Iowa, “school districts are getting $70.5 million to increase security” after the State created the School Safety Improvement Fund. “Districts approved could get up to $50,000 per school building to fix vulnerabilities.” “The funding also builds upon the foundation of the Governor’s School Safety Bureau to support all schools and law enforcement partners with prevention, training and response strategies. A portion of the funding will be utilized to implement technology and tools including proactive social media scanning software, an anonymous reporting tool, digital critical incident mapping and specialized training.”
— In Ohio, “the number of school districts in Ohio that allow staff to be armed quadrupled, with 14% of the state’s districts now participating, according to the Ohio School Safety Center. This policy is particularly compelling in rural school districts without sufficient access to police resource in the event of a crisis event. One singular school district is arming its teachers and staff “as a measure of assistance for the single resource officer for eight schools across the district.”