School Districts Face Criticism Regarding Releasing Information on School Threats
Monday, September 9th, 2019 -- 11:40 AM
(AP/WCCN) -Tell as much as you can as soon as you can. That’s the advice of safety experts when discussing what information about school threats to convey to parents and the rest of the community.In districts around the country, schools have faced criticism for favoring privacy over informing the community. Officials at a Catholic high school in South Carolina faced a backlash this summer from outraged parents when they found out a student had made videos threatening to shoot people and using a racial slur. Cardinal Newman High School’s principal sent three letters to parents before finally apologizing for not sharing information sooner. The Neillsville School District faced a similar incident earlier this year. A student had made threats against other students and the district in March, but it wasn’t brought to the district’s attention until May after it began to spread around the community.
All though the district followed protocol, many parents were upset they hadn’t been made aware of the situation sooner. At the district’s last school board meeting, they worked with law enforcement and passed a new threat assessment policy for the future. The student has since been charged with making threats and will be back in court later this month. Some school districts are now sending letters home even if a threat isn’t specific or to warn what consequences children face if they make a threat.
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