— In New Hampshire, the United States Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a student-on-student harassment case, ruling that “measures in response to high school student’s report of student−on−student sexual harassment did not evince deliberate indifference.” The case arose when school officials, alerted by a school bus driver and video evidence, concluded that another student had “violated the school’s sexual harassment policy by committing unwanted physical contact.” The school “issued…a formal no−contact order…(and) suspended (the harasser) from riding the bus for 10 days and was assigned a seat at the front of the bus upon his return.” After another incident, after which the harasser was suspended, M.L. transferred to another school and filed a lawsuit “asserting a claim of student−on−student sexual harassment under Title IX.” Agreeing with the lower court, the appellate held that to prevail on Title IX student−on−student sexual harassment claim, the student had to show that the school was a recipient of federal funding, and then prove that (1) she was subject to severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive sexual harassment by a school peer; (2) the harassment caused her to be deprived of educational opportunities or benefits; (3) school officials knew of harassment (4) in its programs or activities; and (5) school officials were deliberately indifferent to harassment. The appellate court cited the factual record that school officials: “provided student with her a choice of travel route to avoid alleged harasser and moved her to all-female commons without altering (the harasser’s) assignments; school officials permitted the student to use her preferred travel route, while requiring alleged harasser to use different one.” Therefore, school officials did not exhibit deliberate indifference to student’s allegations of student−on−student sexual harassment.M.L. By & Through D.L. v. Concord School District
— In Illinois, officials in Peoria are considering a proposal to use body cameras in Peoria Public Schools. Officials believe that “providing body cams for school resource officers would ensure the safety of everyone on district property.” One use to which the video will be put is in training the officers.
— In Oklahoma, officials in Oklahoma City are continuing a commitment of transparency in changing police practices on de-escalation, community engagement and accountability. “OKC residents can track the Police Department’s progress on 39 recommendations made by the Law Enforcement Policy Task Force and the Community Policing Working Group by visiting the OKC Public Safety Partnership website. The website includes all 39 recommendations, along with links to learn more about each project. It also includes a timeline of milestones that led to the creation of the OKC Public Safety Partnership.”
— In Oregon, officials in the Salem-Keizer School District are signaling the alarm for “more community support to intervene with students to cut gang involvement and gun violence.” According to a Report on violence in the jurisdiction, “teen violence tripled in recent years.” “While schools have a role in that work, district leaders said solving the issue requires a community effort and more money for programs and people to work with youth.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin Independent School District police officer was expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday after getting shot in the leg, AISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed said.
Law enforcement sources told KXAN on Tuesday night that a suspect was arrested in connection with a homicide and two separate shootings, which involved the AISD officer and an Austin police officer.
UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING “Someone tell me what to do”
By Lomi Kriel and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and Propublica, and Jinitzail Hernández, The Texas Tribune
Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door.
Last year, children were handcuffed and sent to a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation at least 117 times from schools in Wicomico County, on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
By Annie Ma of Associated Press and Meredith Kolodner of The Hechinger Report Associated Press Dec. 5, 2023, 12:05 a.m.
SALISBURY, Md. -- Three times a week, on average, a police car pulls up to a school in Wicomico County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. A student is brought out, handcuffed and placed inside for transport to a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation.
Over the past eight years, the process has been used at least 750 times on students. Some are as young as five years old.
The state law that allows for these removals, known as petitions for emergency evaluation, is meant to be limited to people with severe mental illness, who are endangering their own lives or safety or someone else’s. It’s the first step toward getting someone involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.
New Uvalde school shooting documentary and investigation reveal details of law enforcement’s flawed response
By The Texas Tribune, Propublica and Frontline Dec. 4, 2023
The “Inside the Uvalde Response” film and related reporting by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE analyze one of the most criticized mass shooting responses in recent history and show real-time insight into officers’ thoughts and actions.
The May 2022 gun massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde left 19 children and two teachers dead. It was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
More than a year and a half later, findings from a state-led investigation into the chaotic response—in which officers took more than an hour to take down the shooter—have yet to be released. Most of the officers involved in the response have declined to talk publicly about what happened that day.
But FRONTLINE, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica gained access to a trove of the materials from the investigation and were able to review the accounts of almost 150 responding officers, as well as hours of body camera footage and 911 calls.
Armed 15-year-old arrested after fight at Buchtel CLC
By Maya Morita Posted at 7:58 p.m. Dec. 1, 2023, and last updated 8:27 p.m., Dec. 1, 2023
A 15-year-old was arrested outside of Buchtel CLC Friday afternoon, according to Akron Police.
After dismissal, police said a fight broke out outside of the building involving two students and the 15-year-old, who was not a student.
Members of the APS Safety Team broke up the fight and saw what they believed to be a rifle sticking out of the teen's waistband, police said.
The safety team and the school resource officer attempted to restrain the armed teen on the ground while the teen was trying to reach for the rifle several times, police said.
Once recovered, authorities found the rifle to be an AR-style Airsoft pistol with an inserted, loaded magazine with .223-type ammunition.
