FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Public schools in Broward County are no longer being automatically evacuated if they receive bomb threats via phone, text or email, according to a new district policy.
The decision, laid out in a May 10 memo to sent to principals from the district’s head of safety and security, “came in regards to our constant evacuations of buildings during bomb threats,” Broward Superintendent Howard Hepburn said.
“We want to take a different approach,” he said.
Read the memo:
The memo instructs principals and law enforcement to assess how credible the risk is before determining whether to move students out of buildings and onto football fields or other open areas.
“We wanted to change our approach just to make sure our students are safe and secure and not immediately evacuating the facility from a bomb threat,” Hepburn said.
The instruction by the district comes after a growing number of threats have already prompted more than 175 disruptions since late April.
The change isn’t sitting well with some Broward parents, who feel all threats should be taken seriously and investigated only after their children have been placed out of harm’s way.
“All the information that comes in to whatever school is being targeted it needs to be taken seriously,” parent Shanell Kates-Brown said. “Of course (they should evacuate).”
Despite the large number of disruptions, some parents feel they are necessary for the safety of their children.
“I think they should get them out automatically,” parent Gabrielle Musica said. “It is a safety reason.”
The group representing Broward County Public Schools principals is also pushing back on the new directive.
In response to the memo, an executive with the Broward Principals and Assistant Principals Association asked for principals to individualsbe left out of the decision-making process saying school administrators aren’t qualified to make such a judgement:
“I am hopeful that you will remove any and all references to principals in this document. Principals have zero training in the detection and assessment of bomb threats. That is and always has been the exclusive preview of law enforcement. Decisions as to whether to evacuate must be made by the appropriate law enforcement (individuals) onsite and who are familiar with the threat. While principals will cooperate in any way possible with law enforcement , they will not in anyway be making decisions regarding the veracity of the threat or the means to respond to the threat which can include whether to evacuate.
Please modify this memo accordingly. I will address with legal, the districts insurance carrier, risk management , superintendent and school board if you fail to grasp the degree to which this cannot happen in the way you describe herein. Thank you in advance for making the necessary adjustments.
Broward Principals and Assistant Principals Association