From staff reports
It was a busy day at the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District’s public relations department, as they dropped three press releases, with two of the three concerning student safety.
The first release was dropped at about 3:48 p.m.
ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES IMPLEMENTED AFTER STUDENT ACCESSES DRMS CAMPUS
Last Thursday, a 16 year-old DRHS student walked onto the Del Rio Middle School campus at the start of the school day. The student, who blended-in with other students, hid in one of the school’s restrooms but was detected during the first passing period and subsequently detained by a DRMS teacher. Campus administration and school officers immediately assessed the issue and determined that there was no immediate threat to the campus. However, appropriate disciplinary action was taken to address trespassing.
Since this incident, the District has worked with DRMS to implement added security measures to prevent unauthorized access to the campus. These measures include ensuring the assigned law enforcement officer remains at the single point of entry, continuous sweeping of perimeter, grounds, and checking of all restrooms. Additionally, a perimeter fence was completed on Friday, September 6 to ensure compliance with the single point entry.
Several hours later, at 7 p.m., a release was sent out through channels about students getting into trouble over posting inappropriate material, later called inappropriate pictures in the release.
SFDRCISD STUDENTS IN TROUBLE FOR POSTING INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL
Today, the District learned that a group of students formed a chat group on which a few students began sharing inappropriate photos of themselves with the group. Upon becoming aware of the situation, the District began an investigation and will be addressing the matter with the students under its code of conduct and applicable law. Since these are students, the District cannot share any identifying information and cannot comment further on the investigation into the matter.
Student safety and wellbeing is a top priority for the District, and while it is understood that students increasingly rely on electronic communications using text messaging and social media sites, we want to encourage parents/guardians to talk to their children about responsible online citizenship and refraining from sharing or posting any kind of inappropriate material, whether about themselves or others, even as a joke. Such conduct cannot only result in school disciplinary consequences, but it can also possibly result in criminal charges for those who post or share any inappropriate material with others. If your child should ever receive such material, please encourage them not to share it any further, and instead report it to a parent/guardian, school teacher or administrator.
The most serious release came at nearly 10 p.m., when the district informed the community that a student had been taken into custody for “threatening to bomb Del Rio High School.”
STUDENT DETAINED FOR POSTING THREAT TO SCHOOL
District officials have been informed that a female student was detained and processed in connection with threatening to bomb Del Rio High School. Since there are no holding facilities for females in Del Rio, Val Verde County Sheriff will be transporting the student to a facility outside of Val Verde County.
Statutory penalties for making terroristic threats depend on the level of the charge they are found guilty of committing. If the false report involves a public or private institution of higher education or involves a public primary or secondary school, a student could potentially receive:
— a state jail felony, punishable by six months to two years in a state jail facility and up to a $10,000 fine.
— If the alarm or false report involves any other location, the student could possibly be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor. A Class A Misdemeanor, is punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine, or
— Class B Misdemeanor, which is punishable with confinement in a jail and fines reaching up to $4,000.
District officials remind students and parents that threats and hoaxes are taken seriously for the safety of everyone. Students found to be responsible for terroristic threats will result in school disciplinary consequences and serious criminal charges.
