— In Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed the adjudication of a student for simple assault. The student was defying the authority of an administrator and said to the school resource officer, “F__, no. I ain’t going nowhere and you better not f__ing touch me.” The court held that despite the fact that the student’s fists were clenched when he began cursing the statute required that there be “such a demonstration of violence, coupled with an apparent ability to inflict the injury, so as to cause the person against whom it is directed reasonably to fear the injury.” Interest of T. P.
— In Maryland, the Howard County Administrators Association’s executive board announced its decision in favor of keeping school resource officers. The board said that removing the program would be a mistake and would be throwing away an opportunity to heal the relationship between police and some communities.
— In Colorado, the Summit School District Board of Education is committed to retaining and keeping the school resource officer program after the results of a student survey showed that a majority of students, 72.9%, feel the school resource officer makes them feel somewhat or much safer than if there wasn’t an officer at the school. The board has already signed a contract to keep the program through the 2021-22 school year.
— In Ohio, Centerville City Schools has installed more than 500 surveillance cameras as part of ongoing safety and security upgrades. The project that began in the fall of 2019 involves placing cameras both inside and outside the district’s 13 school buildings, according to the district.