Family of New Jersey girl, 14, bullied to suicide alleges school failed to act
By Audrey Conklin, July 10, 2024, 1 a.m.
Jocelyn Walters, a 14-year-old New Jersey tri-athlete and huge fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, died by suicide on Sept. 9, 2022, after enduring months of harassment and bullying from her peers.
Now, Jocelyn's parents, Fred and Solangie "Soly" Walters, are suing the Middletown Township School District, the school board and other defendants—including Jocelyn's teachers and nurses at a local mental health clinic—for allegedly failing to take appropriate action to prevent the 14-year-old from taking her own life.
The lawsuit also lists 10 John and Jane Does "who harassed, intimidated, bullied and/or otherwise abused Jocelyn" as defendants.
Texas judge orders Uvalde school district, sheriff's office to release shooting records
A consortium of media outlets, including the USA TODAY Network, filed a lawsuit in 2022 after officials refused to publicly release records related to the shooting.
Hogan Gore-USA TODAY NETWORK-July 15, 2024
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge ruled that the school district and sheriff's office in Uvalade must release records within the next 20 days detailing the mishandled law enforcement response to the 2022 deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Laura Prather, the media litigation chair for Haynes Boone who is representing the media outlets, announced the ruling from the 38th Judicial District Court of Uvalde County on Monday. Prather said that the school district and sheriff's office must release "all responsive documents" to the news agencies—"a pivotal step towards ensuring transparency and accountability.”
One dead, one injured after shooting outside Prince George's Co. high school hosting vigil
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (7News) — A shooting outside of a high school claimed the life of a man and injured a woman on Friday night in Maryland, according to the Prince George's County Police Department.
Officers said they were at Wise High School in the 12600 block of Brooke Lane in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, earlier in the evening for a vigil for three athletes who died in a crash last week.
Shortly after leaving the vigil, officers heard shots and quickly turned around to respond to the scene around 10 p.m.
Smyrna School District to Restrict Cell Phone Use in the Classroom
SMYRNA, De. - The Smyrna School District has announced a new policy on cell phones and personal electronic devices for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year to eliminate their use during class.
In a statement shared Monday, July 15, the school district said student cell phones will be placed in a designated area during instructional portions of the school day in the upcoming year. The new policy takes effect Sept. 3, 2024, according to the Smyrna School District Board of Education.
The Board says students in kindergarten through 12th grade receive an instructional device for use inside and outside of the classroom, and that cell phones and other personal electronic devices are therefore not necessary.
In New York, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of an injury case, sending it back to trial on the issue of the failure of the school to supervise its students properly. The injury occurred when the student tripped and fell on a roadway defect that abutted a curb in a public street adjacent to the school on the way to school. The lower court granted summary judgment, dismissing the case because the injury occurred while away from school. In reversing the lower court, the appellate court held that “schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision… A school's duty to supervise is generally viewed as being coextensive with and concomitant to its physical custody of and control over the child, and therefore, when that custody ceases because the child has passed out of the orbit of its authority in such a way that the parent is perfectly free to reassume control over the child's protection, the school's custodial duty also ceases…(But) while a school has no duty to prevent injury to schoolchildren released in a safe and anticipated manner, the school breaches a duty when it releases a child without further supervision into a foreseeably hazardous setting it had a hand in creating.” Reversal was required because a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether school operators breached duty of supervision because the roadway defect was located in area designated by school for pick-up and drop-off of children. Levy v. City of New York
In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services recently announced more than $30 million in grants and matching funds to support school security and school resource officers.
In North Carolina, the Pitt County School Board unanimously approved the emergency use of naloxone in schools. “The latest statistics show that between 2021 and 2022, Pitt County saw a steep increase in overall overdose deaths, increasing more than 65% during that time period.”
In Alabama, “Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the opening of the application process for the 2024 Alabama Safe Schools Initiative Awards. This award program aims to identify and recognize excellence and current trends in school safety across the state.”
The training academy features case studies, fireside discussions and practical exercises. Together, attendees and instructors explore the management options most likely to enhance safety and peace-of-mind. They bring the multi-disciplinary approach to life by placing attendees into diverse teams that include law enforcement, government agencies, schools and universities, corporate security, human resources, legal, and mental health.
Course development combined with this powerful mix of industries allows every attendee to further their professional development and gain mastery.
MGT-412: SPORT AND SPECIAL EVENT EVACUATION AND PROTECTIVE ACTIONS
Aug. 20-21, 2024, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, Magnolia, De. 19962
The Sport and Special Event Evacuation and Protective Actions course helps sport and special event managers prepare and/or enhance their event action plan through incorporation of flexible and scalable protective measures. These measures can be used in isolation or in response to a larger, multi-agency response initiative. This innovative course helps venue operators, first responders, emergency managers, law enforcement, contractors, promoters and owners of events to collaborate on evacuation and sheltering plans with actionable decision criteria that can be adapted for almost any event.
Join The I Love U Guys Foundation at their upcoming Briefings Symposium on Sept. 5-6, 2024, in San Mateo, CA. This symposium goes beyond a typical conference; it's an immersive learning experience that brings together individuals from across the country who are passionate about keeping their schools and communities safe.
Don't miss two days of inspiring keynotes, training on the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Standard Reunification Method (SRM), and ample opportunities for networking with foundation staff and peers in the school and community safety space. This is an amazing chance to gain actionable insights into enhancing the safety of your organization and those in it.
Although it has been over 25 years since this tragic school shooting, this documentary comprehensively describes, through multiple lenses, the evolution leading to this incident. Viewing this film from a behavioral threat assessment lens is extremely valuable. -Joey Melvin
The Killer at Thurston High
What led a 15 year-old Oregon boy to kill his parents and two classmates, and shoot and injure 25 others?
Originally aired Jan. 18, 2000
FRONTLINE investigates the tragedy through multiple viewpoints and offers an understanding of Kinkel's story even those most intimately involved in his life didn't know. School officials and counselors remember Kip as a boyish and likeable teenager who nobody identified as high risk. His sister Kristin, like many others in his life, never noticed any warning signs that might indicate violent--or murderous--behavior. But FRONTLINE traces the quiet terror and ordinary way in which Kip and his parents lost their way.
