Tuesday, a Florida judge ruled that schools have “no responsibility to warn students or faculty of the dangers of students who can possibly do school shootings.”
Why it’s news:
The ruling comes just days before the third anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, when seventeen students were tragically killed.
The judge who made the ruling, Patti Englander, said, “Broward County school district cannot be held liable for failing to predict actions that were beyond its control.”
Englander offered this statement after 19 families sued Broward County Schools for their lackluster performance in handling the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
This is not the first judicial hurdle the families have endured. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the shooting will be considered a “single incident.” This means the maximum severance the Douglas High School families can receive is 300,000 dollars divided between the 19 families (about 15,800 dollars.)
The fallout:
Judge Englander and the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling have set a difficult precedent for families recovering from school shootings. The Florida ruling ensures that school resource officers and school administrators will never be held accountable for incompetency when dealing with possible assailants. The unfortunate ruling also establishes that families will receive inadequate funds for the loss of their loved ones.
The court’s decision has been universally panned by the American public.
- One Florida attorney summed it up perfectly by asking, “How is a kid supposed to feel safe attending a public school under those conditions?”
Good question.
