— In Illinois, the United States District Court dismissed a case brought by parents of a middle school student who was searched by the school principal in the presence of police officers and “found no contraband.” School employees reported seeing a transfer of money between the student and a fellow student and removed him from class, searching his person and his bookbag. When nothing was found, the student “was allowed to return to his class, and he was not disciplined in any way.” Parents sued, arguing that, “he was embarrassed and humiliated by being removed from the classroom in front of his classmates,” and searched for an improper reason that violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The court ruled that the constitutionality of a student search relies on reasonable suspicion, e.g., whether the “student’s conduct creates a reasonable suspicion that a particular regulation or law has been violated, with the search serving to produce evidence of that violation.” The court held that the search by the principal, “was reasonably related in scope to locate contraband and was not excessively intrusive.” Finally, the court ruled that no cases would “put a reasonable principal on notice that it was unconstitutional to conduct a search … after a student gives money to another student during school.” Jedliska v. Snow
— In Texas, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees are deploying one AISD police officer at each of the district’s schools. “The recommendation also stated there should be administrative discretion for assigning additional officers based on the size of the campus and the needs of the campus and surrounding vicinity.”
— In Washington State, the Olympia School District is reestablishing its relationship with the Olympia Police Department, reinstating the School Resource Officers (SROs) on campuses after guns were brought to its high school twice in the first week of school. The school board objective is “to adopt a policy that establishes a formal, collaborative relationship with the Public Safety Division of the City of Olympia, not simply puts police in schools.” The board is discussing placing an emphasis “on a holistic approach, including consultation, multi-tiered support systems, crisis response unit members, and uniformed officers.”
— In North Carolina, the Wake County School District is forming a Coalition for Safer Schools to improve threat assessments in the wake of increasing threats that trigger lockdowns of its schools. “School threats are increasing at an alarming rate and there’s a need for more coordinated effort among law enforcement.”