Texas schools received more than 67,000 'threat reports' last year
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — Texas schools received nearly twice as many threats reports last year compared to the year before. Local school officials said it's a sign their efforts are working.
"It means kids are taking their own safety seriously," said David Stevens, Arlington ISD's Director of Safety. "Students are reporting. They are not being afraid."
Last school year, schools across Texas reviewed more than 67,000 reports of potentially violent students, according to data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Schools have long preached if you see something, say something. However, after the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, Texas schools were required to set up threat assessment teams to keep track of reports of potential violent students.
Of the 67,440 reports of threats Texas schools reviewed last year, schools reported the student in question posed a real threat to others or themselves 17% of the time. In 3% of cases, the threat was deemed imminent and was reported to law enforcement, according to TEA's School Safety and Supportive Schools Program (SSSP) data.
While some threat reports turned out to be hoaxes, others have been credited by law enforcement with preventing a violent incident.
In September, according to the Everman Police Department, an off-duty Tarrant County Sheriff's Office deputy received a credible tip that someone was on the way to the Everman High School homecoming football game with the intent to commit a shooting.
As 3,000 people sat in the stands at J. E. Marr Stadium, officers surrounded a car matching the suspect's vehicle as it pulled up the stadium's parking lot. An 18 and 17-year-old were arrested. Inside the vehicle, investigators said they found an "AR pistol" and a 60-round magazine.
"It was pretty evident to us that this individual was enroute to do some harm," Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said at the time of the arrest.
Threat reports come from teachers, school resources officers, and parents but most come from students.
That was the case last spring when a student at W.A. Meacham Middle School in Fort Worth reported seeing another student with a gun. The school resource officer safely seized the weapon without any incident.
Last year, the Fort Worth ISD reviewed 361 reports of threats. Dallas ISD, the area's largest school district, received 320 threat reports.
Arlington ISD's safety efforts led students to report more than 1,000 threats
Arlington ISD reported receiving the most threat reports of any district in North Texas with 1,101. School safety officials said the number indicates their students feel comfortable and safe to report.
Arlington ISD launched a campaign a few years ago encouraging students to report concerning behavior. The district provides students with multiple ways to report threat including anonymously calling Campus Crime Stoppers or sending a text message or photo using the "Stop It" app.
However, Arlington ISD's safety director said most reports come from students directly telling a teacher or principal.
"That's the key right there because if kids don't feel that comfort level and that ability to be safe, they are not going to talk to somebody. That relationship means everything," Stevens said.
Every Arlington ISD campus has a threat assessment team that reviews tips from students. Arlington schools also have a district threat assessment team that puts a second set on eyes on all reported threats and determines if intervention is needed.
Of the more than 1,100 threat reports Arlington ISD received last year, law enforcement was called in less than 2% of the time but 70% of time a student was referred for intervention, according to school's data reported to the TEA.
Intervention services range from mentoring to mental health services. The district, in partnership with the Arlington Police Department, teams up with community groups to provide students with additional services not offered by the school.
"I think our data shows that because we are very proactive and really support this program, we've had some really good positive outcomes," Stevens said.
Study finds averted school violence most often resulted from students reporting
Most studies on preventing school violence focus on high-profile school shootings, but an on-going study by the National Policing Institute is taking a different approach.
The Averted School Violence Database studied more than 170 cases where a student planned to carry out an attack on a school but was stopped.
"Our thought was if we could study the averted cases, we could really gain a much fuller understanding of what targeted school violence is all about.," explained Frank Straub, the director of the project.
The research found in averted cases the first to discover the suspect's plan was most often a peer. In some cases, they discovered the plot on social media or saw the suspect with a weapon. The most common way plots were discovered and stopped, according to the study, was the suspect telling another student about their plan and that student reporting it.
"I think it's an incredibly important finding because right after 9/11 there was this see something, say something campaign, and this speaks very much to that," Straub said. "The good thing is we see that the vast majority that are stopped are because a bystander took action and reported it to law enforcement or a school authority."