Central Oregon Community College, located in Bend, Ore., announced this week that it is putting its entire staff of public safety officers on paid administrative leave during an independent, third-party review of department operations. The university declined to comment on the immediate reason for the investigation.
Last week, the Utah Senate passed a bill aiming to improve campus safety at colleges around the state. However, a provision for a student-led commission that would have helped provide input and recommendations to lawmakers was removed from the bill before its approval.
Following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that he was revoking the statewide mask mandate the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has updated its public health guidelines for state schools.
On Tuesday, March 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that all Texas businesses will be allowed to reopen to 100% capacity and that he is rescinding the statewide mask mandate. School district superintendents around the state, who say they received no advance warning of the policy change, were left to craft their own regulations as parents and teachers waited expectantly for guidance.
President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday, March 2, that the U.S. is on track to have a vaccine supply sufficient for all adults by the end of May. In the same speech, he also stated that educators—including teachers, childcare workers, and school staff—will be given priority to receive the vaccine in the effort to reopen schools for in-person learning. Biden set the goal to have all such adult workers receive at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of March.
Last week, an ex-Pomona city councilman was sentenced after pleading no contest to one felony charge of possession of child sexual abuse material and one misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a child. Rubio Gonzalez, 45, faces three years of probation (two years of felony probation and one year of summary probation) and a minimum of one year of counseling. Gonzalez is also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
North Carolina law enforcement officers are urging caution after the recovery of a kidnapped 14-year-old girl who communicated with her abductor through a school-issued computer.
President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday in a highly partisan vote. The bill now heads to the Senate where—if it passes—it is expected to do so by a similarly razor-thin margin. However, despite significant opposition to the aid package within the halls of Congress, local officials around the country from both parties have expressed support for the federal aid that would come nearly a year into the global pandemic.
At its Feb. 23 meeting, the UNC System Board of Governors approved raising the student fee for campus security. It’s set to change from $30 to $57 per student.
On Thursday, Feb. 18, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners in the state. House Bill 102 allows the concealed carry of firearms for self-protection without requiring written authorization from the government (that is, a concealed-carry license). Most relevantly, the new law dictates that the Montana University System adopt the looser restrictions by June 1.