Recent Cases
Summaries of recent court decisions on school safety.
Resources
- Riehm v. Engelking, No. 07-1517 (8th Cir. Aug. 15, 2008)
[HTML 5,477kb]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit (AR, IA, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD) has ruled that a Minnesota high school student’s essay depicting a student’s murder of a teacher and suicide constituted a “true threat” and was not protected speech under the First Amendment.
- Ponce v. Socorro Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 06-50709 (5th Cir. Nov. 20, 2007) [HTML 5,926kb]
he U.S. Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit (LA, MS, TX) has ruled that school officials did not violate a Texas high school student’s free speech rights when they disciplined him over entries in his personal journal referring to mounting a “Columbine” style attack on his school.
- Katz v. Medford Sch. Dist., No. 07-3785 (Ore. Cir. Ct. Nov. 9. 2007) [HTML 3,340kb]
An Oregon trial court has upheld a school district’s policy prohibiting teachers from carrying firearms in school, even though a state law allows licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public places.
- Boim v. Fulton County Sch. Dist., No. 06-14706 (11th Cir. July 31, 2007) [HTML 4,647kb]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (AL, FL, GA) has ruled that a Georgia school district did not violate a student’s right to free speech when it suspended her for a narrative about shooting her math teacher.
- Jerkins v. Anderson, A-49-06 (N.J. June 14, 2007) [HTML 4,524kb]
In a unanimous decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that schools in that state have a duty of reasonable care for supervising students’ safety at dismissal times.
- Jerkins v. Anderson, No. 3838-02 (N.J. Super. App. Div. June 20, 2006) [HTML 4,185kb]
A New Jersey appellate court has ruled that elementary school officials had a duty to ensure that student was properly supervised upon release from school.
- Washington v. Pierce, No. 03-487 (Vt. Dec. 16, 2005) [HTML 4,977kb]
The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that a student failed to state a cause of action under Vermont's Public Accommodations Act (VPAA) for student-on-student harassment, because she failed to show that she first had exhausted the administrative remedies available to her or to demonstrate a valid reason for not having done so.