Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius despatched a letter round to high school constructing heads final week, reminding them after they must name 911 after the district took flak over a few of its responses to high school security — a difficulty that’s now high of thoughts nationally after the horrific bloodbath at a Texas college this week.
“This letter serves as an important update/reminder as to when building administrators must notify police of a situation and/or must provide police with student record information,” Cassellius wrote to constructing heads final Thursday in a letter the district supplied to the Herald. “As building administrators, you play a critical role in keeping our schools safe.”
In the letter, which seems to be following up in written kind on a gathering earlier that day, runs down a fast record of cases during which workers are “required” — a phrase Cassellius underlined — to inform the varsity district’s security officers and — she underlined that essential conjunction, too — Boston Police by calling 911.
That contains the invention of weapons, ammo or different harmful weapons; lacking kids; sexual assaults; assault and battery with any object or that ends in “serious physical harm”; medical emergencies; felony-level threats; and any “health and safety emergency.”
Cassellius additional notes that workers are required to offer scholar file data to first responders when there’s an ongoing well being and security emergency — although “only the information necessary to bring the emergency to an end”; with the written consent of a dad or mum or guardian; and involving 51A abuse stories.
Cassellius additionally famous, “Personal observations are not student records and should be released to police and first responders who are responding to an emergency and/or investigating a crime.”
This “reminder” adopted a sequence of incidents within the faculties that raised questions of whether or not management within the varied faculties prevented calling 911. The Herald reported that directors at a special college delayed in calling the cops after a BPS dad or mum flashed a gun throughout a scholar battle, and {that a} instructor had boiling water thrown on her by an indignant scholar — after which needed to take herself to the physician and the police station after the principal didn’t name 911.
BPS additionally has discovered dwell ammo a number of occasions over the previous two months, and the Boston Globe has reported college students hitting one another with district-issued Chromebooks with out police being referred to as — and a scholar having a medical situation that ended up being a stroke with no 911 name.
Just the morning that the district despatched the letter out, two authorities discovered two weapons at Charlestown High School, although 911 apparently was referred to as rapidly in that case.
Asked after at a press convention on Wednesday about coordination between the faculties and cops, Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Greg Long, the performing commissioner of the division, stored it transient, saying, “Our police department, and our schools work together every day. We respond to communication about incidents.”
School security is once more a significant headline after one of many deadliest college shootings in U.S. historical past occurred in Texas on Tuesday when a gunman killed 19 college students and two lecturers.
Cassellius, Mayor Michelle Wu and different Boston officers spoke in regards to the capturing at a press convention Wednesday that was primarily about summer time anti-violence methods. Cassellius mentioned she met with principals Tuesday night time to go over security insurance policies, and is having them evaluation evacuation guidelines and different security efforts with workers.
“Yesterday’s tragic events and loss of precious life illustrates the seriousness of the work ahead for all of us,” Cassellius informed reporters on Wednesday. ” Nothing is extra essential than the protection of our kids and guaranteeing they get to be kids.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”