Nearly 10 Students a Day Got in Trouble For This Reason in Texas

Across Texas, an alarming number of children are facing criminal consequences for comments perceived as threats. Data shows an average of 10 students per day were referred to the justice system in September for "terroristic threats."

Many of these referrals, which are essentially arrests, involved boys aged 10-13. The Texas justice system is showing no grace for anyone, any age, involved in school threats.

“My concern is these threats are going to desensitize people,” Shane Wallace, director of the Texas Association of School Resource Officers told the Dallas Morning News.

TEXAS TAKES A ZERO-TOLERANCE APPROACH TO THREATS

"It seems like there's just a level of adult discretion missing," says researcher David Riedman, noting mass shooters are rarely young or minority. Yet schools and police are taking a zero-tolerance approach after recent tragedies.

In one case, a 10-year-old boy with autism was charged for telling a teacher he should "bring a gun to school" - despite his family not owning firearms. It took over two years and thousands to get the charge dismissed, deeply damaging the child's confidence.

WHICH THREATS SHOULD BE IGNORED?

"Kids will say things...we all were children once," says advocate Andrew Hairston. "You shouldn't be railroaded into the criminal system for a mistake."

However, officials argue no threat can be ignored given the 35 school shootings in 2024. "You can't just say 'I want to bring a gun' without consequence," says a school resource officer.

The massive amount of threats and arrests make many parents and students uneasy and many times parents opt to keep their children home when threats begin to circulate.