POLK COUNTY, Fla. — In recent weeks Polk County Public Schools has seen an alarming increase in students making online threats to either bomb or shoot up a school. In the first 28 days of school there have been 24 students arrested for written threats to kill. Last school year, there were 42 arrests in total.
“Students will be arrested, they will be charged with a second-degree felony and from the school district’s perspective we will pursue the fullest extent of the consequences of any student or non-student member of our community who phones these in or put something up online or email,” said Fred Heid, Polk County Public Schools Superintendent.
Heid said the school district has a zero-tolerance policy. Anyone making a threat of violence is also expelled and will have to pay restitution for the costs it takes to investigate these cases, which is upwards of $5,000.
“Each and every threat assessment can consume anywhere from three to five hours of a law enforcement officer's time,” Heid said. “Part of the threat assessment process is we visit the school; we interview the student and the family. Law enforcement officers request permission to search to see whether there are any weapons or firearms available to a student,” he said.
None of the threats have turned out to be credible. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said whether threats are real or not, words matter.
“We’ve got to check because in every school shooter there were signs in advance that people ignored. This school district is not going to ignore them,” said Judd.
Most of the school threat tips were reported through FortifyFL, an app that allows people to report suspicious activity to law enforcement and school officials.
“Seeing all of these things taking place I’m considering seriously homeschooling or private school,” said Rebecca Carlson.
Carlson is concerned for her granddaughter’s future but praises the district for taking every threat seriously.
“I’m pleased that they’re actually taking charge and handling them with discipline. I don't think it’s OK to just excuse it, and they need to understand the consequences for their actions,” Carlson said.
To ensure campuses remain safe the school district continues to implement several security measures including school resource officers, random searches and wanding.
“I’m pleading with our families to have honest and lengthy conversations with their children about the seriousness of this issue and the potential consequences that not only could the child face, but the family could face financially,” Heid said.
Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone obtained the most recent batch of Florida teacher exit interviews which detail, in their own words, why teachers left the classroom this summer.
