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Midway ISD discipline report: terroristic threats rise while other incidents fall; district highlights prevention steps
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Summary
District staff told trustees that standardized coding and new detection tools produced a rise in documented terroristic threats (4 → 20) and described a decrease in bullying reports and in certain substance incidents after vape sensors were deployed. The district emphasized tiered interventions, Catapult WeTip, and teacher training.
Paul (district staff) presented the annual discipline report and DAP statistics, telling the board that changes in how campuses code incidents explain much of the shift in totals: "From two years ago to last year, we went up 92 total code of conduct violations across the district," he said, and added that elementary campuses had improved documentation practices that increased counts.
Paul singled out terroristic threats: "From two years ago, it was at 4 and it jumped up to 20," he said, and described a statewide uptick in students making threats. He told trustees most of those threats were in-person incidents and that the district adopted the Texas School Safety Center’s "Threats Are No Joke" campaign (grades 4–12 classroom lessons and a parent component) to educate students and parents; he said the campaign corresponded with a subsequent decline in threats.
On substance detection, Paul said the district’s vape sensors increased early detection in 23–24, and then helped reduce THC- and e-cigarette incidents the following year: "We initiated the vape sensors, so we caught a lot more of them," he said. He also reported decreases in bullying (10 → 2) and cited front-end interventions including character education and Leader in Me instruction.
Paul described restorative and tiered approaches in DAP (disciplinary alternative placements), noting a drop in DAP placements (233 → 176) and explained that administrators review cases individually to avoid mandatory expulsions when appropriate. He highlighted the Catapult WeTip anonymous reporting system (available on student iPads and the district website) and partnerships — including Baylor interns who counsel students in DAP — as key supports.
Trustees pressed for definitions and context: how bullying is coded (legal definition requires imbalance of power, a single significant act, or a pattern), what counts as a terroristic threat, and whether incidents were online or in person (Paul said most were in person). The district said teacher training programs (CHAMPS, STOIC), walk-through fidelity checks, and 90-day principal plans are part of the response strategy.
No policy change was adopted at the meeting; the presentation was informational and followed by board questions.
