• In Illinois, the Urbana City Council approved a resolution to increase the presence of school resource officers. Previously, the school board approved new safety measures with the city to have a full-time officer at the middle school and high school. The change is in response to a fight in February at the High School which resulted in several students being sent to jail and one teacher hospitalized with injuries. Some community members are opposed to the new safety measures.
• In Georgia, officers from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office are making good use of police dogs in maintaining safer communities and schools. The two canines have sniffed out contraband totaling over $2 million dollars in 2019. In the schools, the dogs conduct random checks around the physical plant, classroom searches, and parking lot sniffs.
• In Indiana, school officials in Frankton are implementing a clear backpack policy after a bomb threat earlier this year forced the evacuation of a school. Students must also keep the bags in their locker until school gets out.
• In Illinois, the Illinois Association of School Boards rejected a proposal to allow schools to arm teachers and staff at schools. The policy proposal was revisited after small rural schools asked for the option to provide better protection for their campuses because of the long response times when violence threatens their schools.