— In California, the California Court of Appeal denied immunity to a school district for injuries to a student who made her way to school by other means when the school bus “had not arrived for 40 minutes after the scheduled time.” The student “got picked up from the bus stop by a friend whom she had texted. During their ride to school, the friend’s car was hit head on by another driver, causing (the student) to suffer fatal injuries.” The court reversed the dismissal of the lawsuit by the trial court. First, although California law declares schools are immune when students are not on school property (Cal. Educ. Code § 44808), “once a school district undertakes to provide transportation for its pupils, it has a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances.” The appellate court ruled that this exception to the off-campus immunity statute requires reversal, allowing the case to go forward. Brinsmead v. Elk Grove Unified School District
— In Georgia, the Lieutenant Governor is proposing paying teachers “who hold a firearms training certificate an annual stipend.” He wants to pay teachers $10,000 a year to encourage them to carry guns in schools.
— In Pennsylvania, the Senate Education Committee approved legislation that would mandate a “trained, armed school police, school resource or school security officer to be in every school building during school hours.” A state-wide poll “found 69 percent of voters favor requiring school districts to put an armed officer in every school. Additionally, 73 percent say they believe it would make schools safer.”
— In Colorado, the MOU between the Denver schools and the police department “outlines what the officers should and should not do.” As one of the conditions for the officers returning to the schools, the agreement specifies that “officers should differentiate between disciplinary issues and crime problems and respond appropriately, and should not store guns inside schools.”