— In Indiana, the Court of Appeals of Indiana reversed the conviction of a person who sent a Snapchat direct message “now that I’ve showered and washed my sins away I can go and shoot up a preschool.” The prosecution arose when “Snapchat flagged the message and notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Threat Operations Center (NTOC),2 who notified an FBI field office.” Although the defendant agreed that “it was dumb to do” and that “he should not have sent the message,” he was charged and convicted of Level 6 felony intimidation. On appeal, the defendant argued that the evidence was insufficient to convict him. The appellate court agreed, ruling that “to prove (the defendant) committed Level 6 felony intimidation as charged, the State was required to prove that he communicated a threat with the intent that another person be placed in fear that the threat will be carried out, and the threat was to commit a forcible felony.” The applicable rule of law is that “a “true threat” requires two necessary elements: that the speaker intend his communications to put his targets in fear for their safety, and that the communications were likely to actually cause such fear in a reasonable person similarly situated to the target… the statement must be transmitted in such a way that the defendant knows or has good reason to believe the statement will reach the victim.” Therefore, the appellate court reversed the conviction, ruling that because the defendant “sent the message to a private Snapchat group of about twenty individuals who exchanged what he described as dark humor, (and) there was no evidence that anyone in that Snapchat group had a connection to any preschool (such that) there was no … person associated with the nearby preschool – or for that matter any preschool – who was in fact placed in fear by the message.” Lester v. State
— In North Carolina, Wake County school officials are being trained on a new safety response system that replaces the ‘code red’ system. The Standard Response Protocol “uses action words, such as “lockdown,” to make directions more clear.”
— In Washington State, the Seattle citizens approved City of Seattle Proposition No. 1. “The 6-year, $1.3 billion levy will double access to affordable childcare, expand mental health and student safety services in schools, provide up to two years of free tuition at Seattle Colleges for all graduating seniors at public high schools, and expand career pathways to help more students enter the skilled trades.”
— In California, the legislature is enacting a new policy that expands disclosure for school employees known for endangering campus safety. Senate Bill 848 will take effect January 1, 2026, requiring private and public schools to release employment records pertaining to “egregious misconduct.” Previous law did not authorize disclosure unless and until an inquiry was made. It also “requires an applicant for a noncertificated position at a school district, county office of education, charter school, state special school or diagnostic center operated by the department, or any position at a private school to provide their prospective employer with a complete list of every educational institution at which the employee has been employed.”