— In Maryland, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland upheld the search of a student’s backpack, upholding his conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery and for wearing and carrying a handgun. The search occurred when a school resource officer responded to a fight at the school involving several students. A backpack strapped to one of the students fell to the ground. The student ran off. The officer picked up the bag and noticed that the “bag had a decent amount of weight to it.” The officer opened the bag, discovering a firearm, a cell phone and a school ID. The court held that the search of the backpack was reasonable because the student abandoned it. “When a defendant intentionally abandons his right in or to property or a specific area, the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures does not apply.” Richardson v. State
— In New Jersey, official in the Morris Plains School District are collaborating with the Morris County Sheriff, the Chatham Borough Police Department, and the Washington Township Police Department to retrain their school resource officers. The School Resource Officer (SRO) Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Program will emphasize tactics and lifesaving medical interventions that may be required during an active shooter incident or similar acts of violence at a school.
— In North Carolina, the New Hanover County School Board unanimously approved a new parental notification policy when students are in trouble on campus. Under the new guidelines, parents must be contacted before police and school administrators interrogate a student on a matter. The interagency agreement with the police department contains the new language.
— In Indiana, the General Assembly has approved a proposal by the Indiana Secured School Safety Board to provide more than $19 million in state grants for school safety. The program issues matching grants for school resource officers and law enforcement officers in schools, active event warning systems, firearms training for teachers and staff, threat assessments and other safety technology and support services.