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Parent recounts death threats at elementary school; district reiterates safety process and new 48-hour notification rule
Summary
A parent told the board his daughter and friends were targeted with death threats by another student; district officials described threat protocols, said specifics cannot be discussed publicly, and noted a new state rule requiring parent notification within 48 hours for certain threats or disturbances.
A Williamson County parent told the school board on Aug. 18 that his daughter and three classmates were targeted by a classmate who made death threats and called out students during the first week of school. District officials responded that they follow established threat-assessment and communication protocols and noted a new state requirement to notify parents within 48 hours after certain incidents.
Brad Davis said his daughter, then a fourth-grade student, and three girls were singled out by another student who “said they had a list of people they wanted to kill” and “wanted to see the children's heads on spikes.” Davis said the student was removed from the classroom and placed in in-school suspension. “The student … bullied, threatened, and attacked 4 different students,” he said, and told the board he has repeatedly been told by district staff that federal law limits the district’s response.
Davis said he discussed the incident with Michael Fletcher, identified in the meeting as the district’s director of safety, and later with Mr. Golden. “He said that was an option for these students,” Davis said of alternative placement, and said he was told the system’s hands were tied by federal law.
In response, Mr. Golden said the district and safety director do not discuss particulars of individual students publicly and emphasized the district’s multi-step approach: immediate actions to make students safe, communication with stakeholders, and longer-term planning for any needed security changes. “We did not talk specifically about any particular child, and I know I didn't use 'my hands are tied' as a phraseology, but the core of our discussion is the whole scope of making sure every student is safe,” Golden said.
Golden also told the board about a state requirement that the district or a school resource officer notify parents within 48 hours when there is a finding of a threat or a significant disturbance that required additional assistance. He said the district will provide quarterly reports to the board on these incidents, as called for by the state law.
Davis said he will return to a future board meeting with a proposed plan to give school leaders additional disciplinary options. The board did not take formal action on this matter at the Aug. 18 meeting.
