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Dallas SD 2 staff urge board to adopt exposure‑control plan after repeated assaults and spitting incidents
Summary
At a public‑comment hearing, a special‑education assistant representing staff from five schools said classrooms are regularly disrupted by physical assaults, spitting and bodily‑fluid exposures and asked the board to require in‑person training, PPE and an exposure‑control plan aligned with OHA guidance.
Crystal Baker, who said she represents staff across five district schools and works in special education, told the Dallas SD 2 school board that classrooms have become unsafe and that current policies are insufficient to protect staff and students. “We have unsafe students running around the school terrorizing many children,” Baker said during public comment, listing kicking, hitting, spitting, throwing iPads and other incidents as recurring problems.
Baker said staff have experienced frequent bodily‑fluid exposures and urged the board to adopt a formal exposure‑control plan. “We need a formal exposure control plan immediately, which includes formal training for the staff and all the necessary PPE, mask, gloves, gown, hazard waste removal, equipment, disinfectant according to OHA guidelines,” she said.
Board members acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns and several said they would follow up. One board member offered to reach out to district staff and the commenter to get more specifics; the chair reminded the public that, in open session, the board’s role is generally to listen and that necessary follow‑up would be directed to the superintendent.
The speaker described limits on classroom discipline for students on individualized education programs and said those constraints sometimes prevent staff from calling police. Baker also said some staff have suffered concussions and broken bones and that high turnover has followed repeated injuries.
The board did not take formal action on Baker’s request during the meeting. Members asked the auditor and district staff for guidance on implementing additional internal controls during the audit discussion earlier in the agenda, and one member asked the superintendent to compile options for the board’s consideration.
The board’s next steps indicated during the meeting were informal: board members said they would reach out to the commenter and discuss possible next steps with the superintendent and district staff.
