Task force highlights swatting, online hoaxes and inconsistent after‑hours security; panel pushes standard communication templates

Members of the School Safety Task Force raised repeated concerns about online hoaxes, swatting, “don’t show up tomorrow” threats and inconsistent security at after‑hours school events, and officials outlined ongoing work to give districts clear guidance and ready‑made communications. Chief Jon Pennington said his team is finding inconsistent security at after‑hours events such as football games: “Some don’t allow reentry, some do bag checks, some have 4, 5, 6 police officers, some have 2. And so there just isn’t really any consistency to what the protocols look like for after hours,” he told the panel. Pennington suggested the task force consider whether to parallel mass‑gathering permit standards or produce guidance specific to K‑12 athletic and cultural events. Lieutenant Jared Carson described repeated social‑media hoaxes and “don’t show up to school tomorrow” posts; the St. George lieutenant said the district has already processed “about 20 or so” such incidents this school year and credited improved dispatch training for reducing unnecessary escalations. “We’re really having a ton of those as we start to run them backwards,” he said. USBE staff told the task force they have prepared a communications packet of templates for school leaders learned from other districts’ experiences, and that they have distributed Utah‑adapted templates so districts can pre‑populate messages for use during hoaxes or confirmed incidents. “We have a ready‑made communication template that they can go and they can tweak,” Chantelle Coda said, adding that excessive public messaging can itself create safety hazards and complicate law‑enforcement response. The task force heard a national example of rapid prevention and how coordinated notification worked elsewhere: Chief Randy Watt described a Facebook post in Queens, New York, that led to integrated federal and local response and an arrest before an attack could be carried out. “Within 30 minutes, the FBI had notified the NYPD. NYPD responded within 12 minutes to the school,” Watt said, using the example to argue for stronger early‑warning systems and faster cross‑agency communication in Utah. Several task force members urged the group to professionalize communications and standardize hoax response. USBE said it will encourage districts to adopt and pre‑record standardized messages and to use the annual required training for school safety directors as a venue to confirm contacts and community resource lists. Task force members asked staff to draft a communications recommendation and a short list of suggested operational practices for after‑hours events; the task force intends to consider those recommendations at the October meeting so any changes can be finalized before the November session.