Contributed commentary for parents from the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System:

Although we have always included school safety reminders in our monthly newsletters and will continue to do so, we have an important reminder that we want to ensure all families receive at the beginning of the year.

Threats of school violence continue to be a national problem. This week, law enforcement notified us of a nonspecific threat of school violence that appeared in the comments of a social media post about football programs in Tennessee. In the post, a student mentioned attending a Rossview school, and another individual replied with a threatening comment. This was reported to law enforcement. Their investigation traced the source to a juvenile in Memphis, Tennessee, who has been located and will be charged. At no point was there an imminent danger to the Rossview campus or any of our schools. Even so, we want to take this opportunity to remind families of the seriousness of threats.

In Tennessee, threats of mass violence are a felony offense. Within CMCSS, they are treated as zero-tolerance violations with a mandatory calendar-year expulsion. In addition, individuals can be charged for failing to report such threats.

Please help us reinforce these expectations with students:

• Threats are not a joke. Even if made in jest or out of frustration, they create stress and fear, take away valuable law enforcement and school resources, and result in very real criminal and school-level consequences.
• Threats or rumors should never be posted or shared online. Instead, they should be reported immediately to law enforcement or school officials.

As always, our schools and law enforcement will continue to take every threat seriously, investigate thoroughly, and pursue appropriate consequences for those involved. While we may not always be able to directly influence what happens in the rest of the world, we can all influence what happens in our homes, our schools, and our communities.

Thank you for your partnership in helping us keep our schools safe and supportive learning environments for all! Visit the CMCSS School Safety Hub for resources.

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