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Bryan ISD reports declines in referrals after three‑year Safe and Civil Schools rollout
Summary
District leaders told trustees the Safe and Civil Schools program, coupled with campus 'foundations' teams and counselor interventions, corresponded with large reductions in office referrals and out‑of‑placement referrals; staff also described anti‑bullying efforts and how the BeSafe reporting app is used.
Linda Montoya and district counselors presented the board with a three‑year update on Bryan ISD’s Safe and Civil Schools partnership and related campus programming.
"Our office referrals have decreased 42% since 22‑23," Montoya said, summarizing district disciplinary data tied to CHAMPS training, foundations teams and targeted campus interventions. She added that out‑of‑placement referrals and classroom referrals have also fallen (the presentation cited a 49% drop in referrals from classrooms between April 2024 and April 2025).
Campus representatives described specific, low‑cost practices that produced results: morning greeting stations and ID checks at Bryan High (assistant principal Dee Gibson), hallway queues at Davila to reduce misconduct, and expanded extracurriculars at Sadbury to strengthen student engagement.
The board also heard how counseling curricula and family engagement are being used as preventive measures. Donna Willett described district guidance programs (Change Makers for elementary, SchoolConnect for middle/high) and the BeSafe reporting app. Officials said the app routes reports to the campus counselor and administrators; life‑safety reports trigger wider district and law enforcement notifications and can be monitored 24/7.
Parents and trustees raised concerns about public perception and confidentiality. District staff noted that FERPA limits what the district can disclose about disciplinary consequences but that staff can describe the steps the district takes when incidents are reported.
Ending: Trustees praised the work and asked staff to keep parents informed about what the district is doing and how to use the BeSafe app; leaders said they will continue monitoring data and scaling promising campus practices.
