Just hours after a Duval County Public School student was shot in the chest as he was walking to the school bus stop this morning, the district’s policy committee began working on the draft for the “Threat Assessment Team” policy.
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“It was scary and we don’t know what to do,” Westside High School parent Kameiz Namdar said. “My tears started coming out, and I don’t know.”
Namdar and his wife, Samar, took their two sons out of school Wednesday in fear for their safety.
“I don’t want them to be here for dismissal because maybe he will come back today,” Samar said. “Because maybe he didn’t kill the supposed one, he will come and randomly shoot others. I don’t know.”
The Namdars and other parents told Action News Jax they want to see more security on school grounds and education on these incidents for students.
DCPS provided a crisis team at Westside High School after the shooting to provide services for students and faculty.
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“We’re doing what we can do,” DCPS Chairman Paula Wright said. “We are providing counseling and support to our students who are impact(ed) by this.”
Wright said they are all saddened by the incident Wednesday morning and praying for the victim. She also asked the entire community of Jacksonville to get involved to curb the violence in the area.
One policy that Wright said could help with students being impacted by violence is the Threat Assessment Team policy.
It is a state requirement under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act. The deadline was Sept. 1, but several schools across the state are still working on their plans.
“The (purpse of the) 'Threat Assessment Team' is to allow information to be given about a student that is going to do physical harm to him or herself or others,” Wright said. “So we’re looking at how we eliminate harm to a student, to others or any type of violent activity so we can ensure our students are safe, faculty and staff and our community.”
Each team will include four people, and each school will have a team. DCPS said they are also writing specific criteria and procedures to prevent student profiling.
The policy also includes notifying parents ahead of an assessment, then directing the student to mental health resources.
“The focus is on mental health and how mental health plays a tremendous part in the safety of our students and our communities and thus our schools,” Wright said.
The next phase of the policy is scheduled to be discussed at another board meeting in October.