— In California, the California Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by parents whose child was abused by a teacher, holding that school liability does not require proving that the school had actual knowledge of the abuse. The court ruled that the standard in education law is more rigorous than the standard applied in lawsuits involving other government officials. In schools, a constructive knowledge standard controls, in which “a public school district may be vicariously liable …for the negligence of administrators or supervisors in hiring, supervising and retaining a school employee who sexually harasses and abuses a student.” Because of its rigor, “constructive knowledge is knowledge that may be shown by circumstantial evidence which is nothing more than one or more inferences which may be said to arise reasonably from a series of proven facts.” Roe v Hesperia Unified School District
— In Illinois, officials in the Macomb School District are seeing a noticeable difference in student behavior after deploying a second school resource officer. Instances of bullying, students insubordination (entering and leaving classrooms without permission) have ceased. No arrests have been made this school year. The new officer also teaches Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) classes in the schools.
— In Indiana, more school districts are creating police departments as a means to ensure school safety. The school district police department is overseen by the school board and the superintendent rather than being overseen by a municipal body of government. Also, the sole focus of the officer in a school police department is the school campus rather than the community at-large.
— In Virginia, the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors are requiring an eight-hour course on crisis management for school-based emergency incidents. The course is designed for school administrators, law enforcement, school resource officers and emergency management professionals. It goal is to enhance student safety and emergency response preparedness.