May 23, 2018      6:20 PM

Despite terroristic threats nearly doubling, many smaller Texas ISDs lack threat assessment policies

TEA says the number of terroristic threats by Texas students has almost doubled in the last decade, from 1,061 reports in the 2009-10 school year to 2,074 threats in 2016-17

Twenty percent of Texas school districts have no protocol in place to identify and work with students who exhibit threatening behavior on a school campus, according to a three-year audit of school district safety plans out of the Texas School Safety Center.

Gov. Greg Abbott is hosting three days of stakeholder feedback on the shootings at both Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church and Santa Fe High School.

Wednesday focused on the root causes of mass shootings: gun safety and mental health. The lion’s share of the attention next session will likely be the contentious fight over gun control.

The ability to address mental health issues on school campuses is sorely needed, Abbott told assembled reporters after a closed-door meeting with stakeholders. Schools need better strategies to identify students who need to be removed. Administrators need to back up teachers. And students need avenues to report potential threats, Abbott said. 

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright May 23, 2018, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved