On the positive side, with the exception of Chicago, most major cities continue in some fashion or another to have a fairly low crime rate when it comes to violent crimes that involve students. Nonetheless, there are risks that can quickly outstrip the protections that the school district has in place for many youth.

Here are some of the potential health risks that can become legal issues for students in North American high schools in 2017:

Sonic Weapons:

Ever since 3D sound came on the scene, gangs and other groups have been measuring neighborhoods and implementing sensors, speakers, and radar to create systems that help them to push sound and neural routines into buildings and public areas where students can be. High schools near military bases have been especially hard hit, with Sweetwater High in National City leading the way as a popular place for gangs to use sonic to assert control. Baltimore, Washington DC, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Seattle are other cities that have had similar problems.

The problem for students that have hearing or nervous system sensitivity is that they can easily get ADHD when hit by sonic, potentially lowering their test scores. Another problem is that school administrators will acknowledge that sonic vendors have tried to sell them the technology as a security instrument, but they do not know that sonic is being used on campuses because they haven’t thought about putting in a system that could actually detect it. So without counsel, students end up having to just put up with harassment.

Physical threats:

Whether it be hazing or another form of physical abuse such as fighting, high school children have a great deal of injuries each year from altercations on campus. If you take a look at the police crime map for the metro area that you are in, the statistics will bear this out. Does that mean that teenagers are not safe? Not always.

In Israel, 3 teenagers were kidnapped and murdered recently. Yet a high school that caters to Americans was nearby and relatively unaffected by attacks. According to Jerry Sokol Miami resident affiliated with that school, tragic as the attacks were, the commitment to a security program has so far allowed the high school to be fortunate enough to avoid similar problems. Of course what Jerry Sokol and his community went through are an extreme example of the normal bumps and bruises that children may end up having when they are involved in school altercations.

One thing that young people do not typically realize is that when students attack other students and cause damage that may require a hospital visit or surgery, they remain liable for their actions. And although it isn’t the reaction that you see victims making on television shows, by suing the perpetrator of violence that cause physical damage you can actually defuse future problems because an economic judgement weighs heavily on people- and their families are likely to push for them to grow up and stop attacking people instead of ringing up a lot of economic charges at their high school.

Overall, there are several types of physical and potential health threats can face students at almost any high school in North America. By answering those threats with a legal solution when they come about because of illegal action or incompetence, you will forestall future problems and allow your child a better environment going forward.