In North Carolina, the United States District Court refused to dismiss a case brought by an injured student against school officials who knew that older students were abusing younger students, but nevertheless allowed them to interact on a regular basis. The court held that school officials would be liable for failing to act in ways “reasonably calculated to end the harassment,” if they knew about the abuse yet no victims were interviewed, no parents were notified, and no perpetrators were seriously evaluated or disciplined. [Woods v. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board of Education]
— In Wisconsin, school resource officers in the Rapids School District are prohibited from going “hands-on” with students for disciplinary or property damage purposes. Under the new policies, physical intervention is still allowed to protect students from themselves or others, or in situations where behavior has turned criminal. But if school administrators aren’t allowed to lay their hands on a child to stop property damage or noncriminal bad behavior they can’t ask an officer to do it for them.
— In Nebraska, the Safe and Successful Kids interlocal agreement between the city and Lincoln Public Schools approved its budget, including continued funding for the school resource officer program.
— In North Carolina, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education approved $2.5 million in contracts with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and Kernersville Police Department to continue providing school resource officers to local middle and high schools.