The reasons for the problem are unclear but there’s no doubt that K12 leaders across the country are grappling with a sudden rise in frightening and disruptive threats against their schools.
A Google search for school threats on Monday produced multiple new stories from just the previous 24 hours and across the country. The social media threats led to building closures, lockdowns, and arrests that included charges being filed against a 10-year-old in Florida and a 54-year-old man in New York.
Teenagers have been arrested in the wake of “at least two dozen possible threats” against schools in Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reports. In one case, three high school students were charged with making a threat on social media to blow up a school.
Superintendents on the move: New leader steps up in New York City schools
“The impact that this has on a community, it is just so unsettling: You get to the point where people don’t want to come to work or don’t want to come to school—that’s a terrible place to be in,” South Lyon Community Schools Superintendent Steve Archibald told the Free Press, which is now maintaining a tracker that reveals the many threats Michigan schools have received since the shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia on Sept. 4.
School leaders in Connecticut are also dealing with “near daily” social media threats, the Hartford Courant reported. In September, a 13-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were charged in separate cases for threatening local schools on social media. In the latter situation, Ansonia Public Schools were closed on Sept. 19.
Connecticut U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal told the Courant that Congress must pass the Kids Online Safety Act which would, among measures, require more research into how social media impacts youth mental health. Blumenthal also called on parents to limit the time their children spend on social media.
At least three arrests have been made in Pennsylvania in recent weeks after a string of social media threats caused lockdowns and cancellations, PennLive.com reported. The Susquenita School District closed on Sept. 9 in response to a threat that resulted in a juvenile’s arrest while, around the same time, another juvenile was charged with making threats against middle schools in Cumberland County, according to the website.
Another student was arrested later this month in Lancaster County for posting a threat on Snapchat.
Frederick County Public Schools in Virginia closed on Sept. 11 after a threat made on social media. A 15-year-old from Maryland was later arrested when police linked him to weapons shown in an Instagram post, according to The Washington Post.
