District safety staff: social-media threats often false; recommend graded responses, consistent messaging and reporting channels

District safety staff briefed the Franklin County School Board on social-media threats to schools and summarized six key takeaways from a RAND Corporation report funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, urging measured, coordinated responses to reduce needless disruption.

The presenter said the district's single largest challenge is an "unverified social media threat that ends up being nothing," and described a familiar cycle: a post circulates, law enforcement is pulled into multiple inquiries, and schools and families experience a disruptive "game of telephone." The speaker recommended a graduated response that starts with lower-intensity measures such as soft lockdowns and can be scaled up quickly if investigation warrants.

The speake…