— In Ohio, the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the adjudication of a student for possessing “a deadly weapon in a school zone,” discovered by a non-sworn SRO “while performing a hand-held wand scan and pat down of his person as part of the school’s standard entry procedure.” The student argued that the evidence should suppressed as an unlawful search constrained by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The high school “had a written policy for daily weapons searches in order to protect students and staff.” Ordinarily, “students walked through a security checkpoint that included a bag check and metal detection screening.” One the day of the arrest, “the school’s metal detector was inoperable.” The so-called SRO, a non-sworn staff member, instead set out to “simultaneously pat down each student while performing the hand-held wand scan.” The SRO “discovered a firearm in (the student’s) waistband while performing a hand-held wand scan and pat down of his person…(the weapon was) in (the student’s) waistband from the pat-down search.” Both the lower court and the appellate court upheld the search, refusing to suppress the evidence. Applying the rule of law in the seminal case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., the appellate court admitted that “there was no individualized suspicion that led (the) SRO … to search (the student’s) person. Even so, however, the court held that “this search falls within the general category of “administrative searches,” as it was conducted as part of a general regulatory scheme in furtherance of an administrative purpose, rather than as part of an investigation to secure evidence of a crime or violation of a school rule.” The standard for evaluating this type of school search policy comes from the U.S. Supreme Court cases of Vernonia School Dist. 47J v. Acton, and Board of Education v. Earls. These cases validate the search because the policy “supports the compelling governmental interest in public school safety by helping to ensure the contents of students’ bags and what they carry on their persons are not dangerous and that students, teachers, and faculty are safe from physical harm.” In the Matter of K.P.
— In Florida, the Hillsborough County School District is moving to shut down the Walton Academy Charter School for “ongoing and unresolved security failures.” Numerous safety related failures have been documented by the school board and the Florida Department of Education including “failures in the emergency alert system, staff training, safety drills and the lack of designated “safe areas” for shelter during emergencies.”
— A new empirical study on behavioral threat assessments and school safety concludes that BTA “can support students and reduce exclusionary discipline practices, including disparities.” The threat assessment teams must be properly trained and must commit to using the evidence-based science to assess concerning behaviors.
— In Arizona, audits by the Arizona Department of Education suggest that Arizona schools are failing state mandated safety plan standards. “A new state audit shows many campuses remain dangerously unprepared for active shooter events, natural disasters and other emergencies.”