Duval Public Schools Superintendent Diana Greene said at Tuesday’s school board workshop, she’s willing to compromise with the showing of videos teaching students what to do if an active assailant were to come on campus, by not showing them to the youngest students.
The videos teach students if an active assailant is on campus they may have to run, hide or fight. The videos also show an assailant dressed in all black walking around campus, as well as an armed police officer running into the school.
“I felt that we could come up with a different plan for our youngest students and ensure one, that we comply with law and number two that they participate in drills but in a way that is probably more comfortable for our K-2 families,” Greene said.
Third-graders through high school students will still be required to watch them, although parents are allowed to opt their children out.
- Watch:The videos on DCPS’s website
- Related: Duval School District To Show Videos Preparing Students For Assailant On Campus
Hendricks Elementary parent Mary Nash, who has a background in child development, had opted her first-grader out of watching the videos, but was concerned her daughter’s classmates would all be talking about the videos anyway. Nash and another parent attended Tuesday’s meeting to ask the videos not be shown.
“I think that we can do it in a much more reassuring way for children that they know that they are in a safe environment when us as parents drop them off at school,” Nash said.
She was specially concerned with the videos telling kids a “bad guy” who might try to hurt them could come on campus, and showing an intruder.
School board member Ashley Smith Juarez also urged her colleagues to consider dropping the videos for all elementary students, calling the videos concerning and confusing.
“My concern was that they were not as beneficial as they had potential to be detrimental to the students,” Smith Juarez said.
While Smith Juarez said she’s heard from many concerned parents other school board members said they haven’t had any complaints.
A new state law following February’s Parkland school shooting requires students to go through active shooter drills. The videos aren’t required by law, but the district is using them to supplement the future drills.
District Assistant Police Director Wayne Clark said a lot is still unknown about the new requirements.
“The state told us what to do, not how to do it,” he said.
And the district is also looking for state guidance on just how frequent active shooter drills must happen, because they’re much more disruptive than fire drills, Greene said. State law just says the drills must happen “as frequently as other drills.” Fire drills for example happen monthly.
The videos Duval’s showing were developed by the Pinellas County School District, and after backlash from Pinellas parents, that district decided against showing them to elementary school students, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Pinellas County is keeping the videos on its website for parents who want to use them.
Greene said if the district had a year to implement the new requirements, which is the case for many other new state laws, the district could have probably taken more time to make its own videos.
She said a good thing about showing the videos is all students are getting the same message.
But she said she could also see parents’ arguments that younger students may not need to know all the details as to why they’re learning about hiding or running away during an active shooter drill.
She said she could see K-2 students being told they’re practicing for bad weather instead of an assailant.
Clark said the videos will probably be shown twice a year at a minimum.
Moving forward, Smith Juarez is encouraging all parents to watch the videos and decide if they want their children to view them. Some schools are showing the videos Wednesday.
Reporter Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride.
