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Dallas SD 2 staff member tells board repeated student assaults, asks for districtwide safety policies
Summary
At the March meeting, staff member Crystal Baker told the Dallas SD 2 board that staff face regular physical assaults and a lack of training, urging the district to adopt new safety protocols, clearer consequences for harmful student behavior and better guardian communication.
At the March meeting of the Dallas SD 2 Board of Directors, Crystal Baker, identifying herself as a staff member, told the board that many school employees are afraid to speak out and described repeated incidents of student violence and staff injuries.
"It has been 1 month since I sat here and informed you of the circumstances we all face daily at the schools in Dallas," Baker said, adding that staff have reported concussions, rib contusions, facial cuts and other injuries. She said the district provided boxes of PPE but not the cleanup or restraint training staff requested and that the district's choice of a "no hands" approach (MANT) has left staff feeling unable to protect students and themselves. "Do we want to handle a student who's out of control? Never. But sometimes that is the last resort that will only help protect others," she said.
Baker said staff job descriptions do not anticipate being assaulted and contrasted school roles with those of prison guards or law-enforcement officers, who are trained and authorized to restrain people. She also said that, in her experience, guardians are not always notified after serious incidents, and that staff were told parents are contacted only when there is a visible mark.
Baker asked the board to consider new districtwide policies that would improve safety for both staff and students, establish clearer protocols and consequence steps for students who harm others, and ensure guardians are notified when appropriate. She also offered to email her written comments to board members. The board acknowledged her remarks and asked her to provide the written statement for follow-up.
The board did not take immediate action on specific policy changes during the meeting. The public comment appears in the meeting record so board members and staff can consider whether and how to respond through policy, training, or other administrative steps.
What the speaker said (selected points): - "Many staff are afraid of getting in trouble or will be let go for it." (Crystal Baker) - "We have received boxes of PPE. We have not been having the training for cleanup protocols as part of the request I put in last month." (Crystal Baker) - Baker named Oregon Intervention System (OIS) and MANT as prior approaches and said staff view MANT as a failed program in practice for their sites.
Next steps noted in the meeting: board members asked Baker to email her written statement; staff indicated that written materials would be forwarded to the board for follow-up.
