Thousands of school walkouts are planned for Friday, which marks 19 years since the Columbine massacre. Since Columbine, there have been more than two-dozen deadly school shootings in America, including the Valentine's Day attack in Parkland, Florida. Thursday, students in Frisco prepared for their protest. A few dozen teenagers met at a park in Frisco to make posters for the walkouts. Students from all nine Frisco high schools plan to participate. view article

Another wave of student walkouts is expected to disrupt classes Friday at hundreds of schools across the U.S. as young activists press for tougher gun laws.  The protests were chosen to line up with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which left 13 people dead in Littleton, Colorado. At 10 a.m., students plan to gather for moments of silence honoring the victims at Columbine and other shootings.  From there, some students will head to rallies at their statehouses. Others will stay at school to discuss gun violence. Some are holding voting registration drives. view article

As mass shootings have increased, school districts are brainstorming ways to make their schools safer.  A recent study suggests that the number of armed security officers in schools are increasing. Local district officials said they are doing everything they can to protect their students and staff.  The National Center for Education Statistics recently released a federal study on security and how schools are keeping its students safe.   “Our nation’s schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence,” according to the study. “Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself and the surrounding community.” view article

A new program will help equip educators in Fort Worth with life-saving first aid skills and supplies that could be used in a classroom. From Sandy Hook to Parkland, mass school shootings have forced educators to rethink how to make schools safer. The new program, which is being developed through a collaboration between Cook Children's Hospital and Fort Worth Firefighter Charities, will help teachers learn to use first aid techniques if students or faculty suffer a traumatic injury. view article

For Sheriff’s Deputy Blaine Gaskill, the honors keep coming. The Maryland school resource officer helped end a shooting at Great Mills High School last month. He learned Thursday that he was chosen for the National School Resource Officer Medal of Valor. He accepted the honor from Gov. Larry Hogan. It was Gaskill who ran to the sound of gunfire in the halls of Great Mills High School last month and encountered shooter Austin Rollins, who was pointing a gun to his head. view article

A teenager on her way to school Thursday morning was assaulted while walking to a school bus, police say. Police say the incident happened just before 7 a.m. near the corner of Calmont Avenue and Laredo Drive. According to police, the 13-year-old girl was physically assaulted by an unknown suspect. She was able to get away and get help. view article

After threatening to publicly shame school districts behind on implementing school safety strategies following the deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla., Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that all Texas school districts and public junior colleges are up to compliance. Abbott also announced $853,000 in funding for the Texas School Safety Center, which arms schools with methods for preventing school violence, substance abuse and bullying. Some of the funds will be spent on developing specialized training for law enforcement officials based on school campuses aimed on preventing violent crimes, improving officer-student relations and improving student learning. view article

Police appealed for help Thursday for leads on a man who attacked and seriously injured a teen as she walked to a school bus. The teen managed to get away from her attacker Thursday morning and stepped onto her school bus, bleeding from the assault. view article

A former student in the Ingham Intermediate School District's cybersecurity program faces felony charges after police say he targeted the district in a ransomware attack. Brandon Bartlett, 19, of Mason, was charged with two counts of using a computer to commit a crime and one count each of computer fraud and interfering with electronic communications. All four charges are felonies. The case dates back to February 2017, when the district suffered intermittent internet outages over a period of about 10 days, Michigan State Police Sergeant Dan Cook testified at a hearing that led to the charges. view article

Among teens, a vape pen with twice the nicotine content of comparable devices has been surging in popularity. Called the Juul, the device even has its own verb: Juuling. Instagram and YouTube are full of videos of adolescents "Juuling," in class and in front of teachers. A string of high schools along the East Coast has acknowledged "Juuling" in bathroom stalls as a widespread problem, and dozens of teachers report confiscating Juul devices disguised as Sharpiesand other classroom items. view article

La Porte ISD authorities recently alerted parents of children attending Bayshore Elementary School that a prekindergarten student who attends the campus had been hospitalized for bacterial meningitis. District officials said that after the school was notified of the case on April 12, they began contacting parents of any students who may have been at risk for exposure to the disease, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is caused by inflammation of protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. No other cases have been confirmed, according to Harris County Public Health. The identity of the child who was hospitalized was not released, and further information on that student’s condition was unavailable. view article

A peaceful demonstration and a moment of silence turned chaotic Tuesday after Confederate flags turned up at a rally against gun violence at a Haslet high school. A student-led event began inside and then moved outside Eaton High School, where about 100 students had gathered to remember those killed in the shootings at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. view article

A South Houston High School student was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening to shoot up the school. Michael Perkins, 18, was arrested Tuesday and charged with exhibition of firearms on school property. Perkins is accused of making a terroristic threat to the school through a text message, according to Pasadena ISD officials. The alleged threat was reported to Pasadena ISD Police who arrested Perkins before school started Tuesday. view article

Hallsville ISD trustees have approved a local policy that gives licensed gun owners permission to have guns — under certain conditions — on school property. The policy, as recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards, is updated to reflect changes in state education code made by the Texas Legislature in the special session called during summer 2017. Senate Bill 1566, which went into effect in September, allows public and open-enrollment charter schools to “not prohibit a person, including a school employee, who holds a license to carry a handgun ... from transporting or storing a handgun or other firearm or other ammunition in a locked, privately owned or leased motor vehicle.” view article

The Socorro school district is working to get back the money it lost when kids were absent due to school shooting threats. Following the Florida school shooting on Feb. 14, seven schools in Socorro ISD had attendance numbers that fell after threats made on social media. Now, the district is trying to get back the money it lost from the students who didn't show up. On Tuesday, the district approved a submission to the TEA for a low attendance waiver. view article

The Katy ISD police is sending a warning for parents and their children about a recent stranger danger incident. Police want them to be vigilant walking to and from school after a Taylor High School student was approached by a man who insisted on giving her a ride. She was walking along Kingsland Boulevard Tuesday morning when she said a Hispanic man asked if she needed a ride.   view article

A South Houston High School student was arrested Tuesday after making a terroristic threat to the school via text message, according to Pasadena ISD. The school released a statement Wednesday evening regarding the arrest. Details of the threat are were not disclosed in the district's statement. view article

The following is from a news release issued by College Station ISD: The College Station ISD Board of Trustees met Tuesday, April 17. Chief Administrative Officer Greg McIntyre made a second presentation to the board regarding the possibility of the district implementing a random drug testing program. The reasons for potentially instituting a random drug testing policy for students include: view article

After an article in the E-T about school safety, Stephenville ISD Superintendent Matt Underwood introduced campus carry plans to the board of trustees Monday, asking them to examine the guardian and marshal plans. “There are about 178 districts in the state of Texas that implemented one of these,” Underwood said. “It’s a very difficult topic, I understand, and we need some time to digest it.” There have been two recent threats at schools in Erath County. A hoax bomb was discovered at Dublin High School inside a backpack, then one day later, a Stephenville student allegedly made threats against a teacher, saying she wanted to “shoot up” the high school. view article

Mental health has been a topic of discussion nationwide for some time and McAllen ISD is joining the conversation. Tuesday night, the district held a Mental Health Summit with exhibits to teach students, parents and the public about the services available in the Rio Grande Valley. "Mental health is a primary concern for us in the district and really across the nation,” said McAllen ISD Superintendent Jay Gonzalez. “We want to make sure that our families and our students know what services we have in regard to mental health services in our community and how McAllen ISD works with these providers." view article

The College Station school board reviewed staffing and budget priorities during its Tuesday meeting, as well as continued discussion on student drug testing. During the board's workshop session, Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Mike Martindale made a second presentation on the development of the 2018-19 budget.  view article

Soon teachers and school employees in Navasota could be armed on campus. In a board meeting last night the Board of Trustees for the district voted to enact what's been called the Guardian Plan. view article

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and Judson Independent School District are offering free training to area school police, administrators, and teachers on how to respond to active shooters and hazardous situations. Sheriff Javier Salazar said the office received several donations from restaurants and organizations to teach campus police two programs offered by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation. view article

Midland ISD has paired up with a national program that uses the game of golf to teach important core values. It's called The First Tee and it’ll be implemented at four elementary schools in Midland. The First Tee is a health and character development program used at 10,000 schools across the country and will now be used in the tall city. Greathouse elementary hosted a launch ceremony this afternoon.. They will soon use the program - as will General Tommy Franks Elementary, Burnet elementary and Washington STEM Academy.  view article

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office announced Monday that it will participate in a national training program aimed at saving lives during active shooter situations in schools. The Sheriff's Office plans to train 100 school administrators and law enforcement officers in Standard Response Protocol created by the nonprofit foundation "I Love U Guys," named after the final text message received from the daughter of the founder, who was killed in a school shooting. view article

I have never been prouder to stand amongst my generation as student leaders rise up and take action against gun violence. My generation will be historymakers and trail blazers while wearing Converse sneakers and ripped jeans. We might not understand how to file our taxes yet. Some of us can’t even buy lottery tickets or watch rated-R movies. We struggle in AP calculus, we’re moody, hormonal teenagers, and sometimes our rooms are messy.  But we are leading a movement in hopes that our friends won’t lose their lives to preventable gun violence.  I love my school, I love to learn, and I never want to be afraid to do so. But I’m fearful about my future, and that’s why I care about March for Our Lives. My country needs to uphold its promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and I’m joining the movement and helping to lead a campaign at my own school. view article

Every devastating school shooting pushes each district to intensify preparation methods. However, the Bexar County Sheriff's Javier Salazar said Monday, without communication between schools, law enforcement and first responders action plans could still fail. That's why entire communities are now training together, learning one standard protocol from a national program. view article

The panel discussion on school safety at Friday’s Lone Star Legislative Summit was presented in front of a packed house. The Lone Star Legislative Summit was held at Stephen F. Austin State University on Friday. East Texas News learned that school districts are scrambling to follow Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to make classrooms safer. view article

Lytle ISD posted a message on Twitter urging students and parents not to re-post a message which claims the school received calls about a shooting this week. Authorities said if you share the original message it's that much harder to find who posted it first. Police believe the post came from a student. view article

Local authorities were on alert this week after finding a handwritten statement in the Bellmead H-E-B store threatening violence on Friday's 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. H-E-B staff alerted police Sunday when they found a note written on the inside of a door of a family restroom, stating "Columbine 2.0 Coming to a school near you," Bellmead police Lt. Kory Martin said. No specific schools or dates were mentioned, but police launched an investigation and notified local school districts. view article

Uncontrolled bleeding, regardless of the cause, can result in death within five to 10 minutes. Therefore, San Benito CISD is taking a proactive approach in preparing school personnel on how to stop traumatic bleeding should a mass-casualty event ever occur close to home. view article

A suspect is dead following a lengthy standoff in Alpine on Monday. According to the Brewster County Sheriff's Office, their deputies and officers with the Alpine Police Department responded to a home where a suspect was reportedly making threats. When officers arrived on scene they learned that the suspect in question was armed and refusing to leave the home. view article

An area school district is now working on implementing policies that will keep students and staff safer. During its last school board meeting, the Graham ISD's board amended two of its policies. Allowing a select group of staff to carry firearms. But the superintendent says in light of recent national events the board decided to finally approve these measures. view article

Local authorities were on alert this week after finding a handwritten statement in the Bellmead H-E-B store threatening violence on Friday’s 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. H-E-B staff alerted police Sunday when they found a note written on the inside of a door of a family restroom, stating “Columbine 2.0 Coming to a school near you,” Bellmead police Lt. Kory Martin said. No specific schools or dates were mentioned, but police launched an investigation and notified local school districts. view article

The challenge for schools designing mandated emergency response and recovery plans is to be ready for life-threatening situations to arise anytime between first bell and last bell — and beyond. That was a big part of what East Texas educators learned during one session of a two-day Lone Star Legislative Summit at Stephen F. Austin State University this weekend. “What if it happens during class change? What if it happens during lunch?” Joe McKenna, associate director of the Texas School Safety Center, asked a packed breakout session audience. “How you prepare for that might be extremely different. Are there after-school programs? Are there after-school activities that need to be included in the plan? ... Sit down with your first responders. Those conversations need to happen before something happens.” view article