In Pennsylvania, the United States District Court ruled that the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) were not violated by keeping a student in an interim alternative education setting beyond the forty-five (45) day limit without a hearing. The special needs student “brought a three-inch pocketknife to school and was displaying the knife to other students.” A manifestation determination meeting ruled that it was not a manifestation of his disability nor “caused by the Local Educational Agency's (LEA's) failure to implement the IEP.” Educators placed the student in an “interim alternative educational setting for forty-five (45) days due to the weapons violation,” and later agreed with his grandparents to delay his “return to the District high school (until) the beginning of the second marking period, thereby extending the 45-day placement.” Soon thereafter, the student sent an email threatening to “ shoot up the school and die” and killed a named school official. The manifestation determination again ruled that this incident was not a manifestation of his disability. The student was expelled for the school year. The Administrative Hearing Officer concluded that the District had not denied the student his IDEA rights. On appeal, the court ruled that “review of a hearing officer's decision in an IDEA case is subject to a unique standard of review…(in which) findings of fact … are to be considered prima facie correct…and no deference is given to the hearing officer's legal holdings.” The court ruled that ‘the determination of whether a change in a child's educational routine is a “change in placement” is a fact-specific one.” Therefore, “based on the evidence, a reasonable fact finder could not conclude that the extension of the interim placement constituted a “change in placement.” Jordan L. v. East Stroudsburg Area School District
In Indiana, the Governor approved The Secured School Safety Grant a nearly $30 million grant to enhance Indiana school security. The funding is “allocated in various categories, two-thirds of which went to increasing the number of school resources and law enforcement officers within local school systems.”
In Kentucky, the Kentucky School Security Marshal says schools fall short in providing both resource officers and mental health counselors. The Task Force on School and Campus Safety found that “the main culprits for not having assigned SRO, majority of course, was funding and personnel.”
In Arizona, the Superintendent of Public Instruction is entering into an agreement with private a company to address staffing shortages that is making filling school resource officer positions difficult. Arizona law provides millions of dollars in grants for schools to hire school resource officers, as well as counselors and social workers. As to officers, “when they went to hire someone, they found out that the police departments couldn’t spare enough people to fill those positions.”
Schools closed Thursday after mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine
A mass shooting left at least 15 people dead Wednesday in Lewiston, Maine
Published Oct. 25, 2023
Schools will not be open Thursday after Wednesday night's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Jake Langlais, superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools, made the announcement on social media. "There remains a lot of unknowns at this time," he said. "Information moves quickly but not always accurately. Please continue to shelter in place or get to safety."
The man police shot and killed Monday on the roof of a Germantown middle school drove a car with out-of-state license plates and no known connection to the village, the Wisconsin Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Germantown officers shot the man after he climbed to the roof of Kennedy Middle School and shot at them, the department said. He apparently had walked to the school from a car repair shop, where investigators say he was acting erratically.
'No one wants kids dying in schools,' but Americans disagree on how to keep them safe
October 25, 2023 5:00 AM ET
An overwhelming majority of Americans want children to have active shooter drills in school, but a new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that they differ on how to conduct them, and what safety measures to invest in.
Police in Maryland have identified a 12-year-old student who they say was behind seven unfounded bomb threat reports earlier this month that prompted evacuations at the three targeted schools each time.
School bus driver in Virginia Beach stabbed in the hand by parent, police say
Authorities said the parent allegedly stabbed the driver in the hand, which sent the driver to the hospital for treatment.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A school bus driver was hurt following an altercation with a parent, Virginia Beach police said.
The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. Monday along South Independence Boulevard, between Edwin Drive and Holland Road. Authorities said the parent allegedly stabbed the driver in the hand, which sent the driver to the hospital for treatment.
Deer crashes through window at Berwick Middle School
Vivian Muniz
Posted: Oct 25, 2023 / 10:56 AM EDT
Updated: Oct 25, 2023 / 05:12 PM EDT
SALEM TWP., LUZERNE COUNTY(WBRE/WYOU) — A deer crashed through the window of a Berwick Middle School classroom Wednesday, running through a hallway before being removed by wildlife officials.
School officials tell 28/22 News that a deer crashed through a window of a fifth and sixth-grade classroom around 9:30 a.m.
Officials stated that a teacher was inside the classroom when the deer bolted through the room, into an empty hallway. Then the deer went into another classroom with a small group of students and a teacher inside.
Deadline: Nov. 1 to be entered to win a $100 gift card
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Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Bomb Threat Checklist
Whether the bomb threat is made via phone, handwritten note, email, or other means, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Bomb Threat Checklist provides instructions on how to respond to a bomb threat and a comprehensive list of information that will assist law enforcement in a bomb threat investigation.
Physical and Behavioral Health-School Climate Assessments
Creating a safe and healthy school environment is a goal of all educational leaders. Identifying physical- and climate-related needs through assessment processes are integral to creating safe learning environments.
Center for Safe Schools (CSS) provides comprehensive safety assessment services to school districts across the country. Our safety assessments contain two critical elements:
Physical Safety Assessment
Behavioral Health and School Climate Assessment
CSS nationally certified assessors are available with extensive experience conducting assessments in public, charter and private educational institutions.
CSS staff work with you through every step of the assessment process, from introduction to final report. At the end of the process, you will receive an-easy to-understand report with concrete recommendations, and your CSS assessor will help prepare you to present these results.
