LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The volume of violent acts involving students in the Clark County School District has made headlines recently and the district released current numbers of such incidents.
Tuesday, officials with CCSD reported the district has currently dealt with 5,350 violent acts for the current school year dating back to August 2021.
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Harassment or threats led the report with 2,352 incident calls, followed by 1,416 fights and 1,358 assault or battery calls, according to the Clark County School District Police Department.
Superintendent Jesus Jara and other school district leaders have previously responded to a violent video that showed a girl being punched in the head repeatedly by another girl inside a Las Vegas High School classroom full of students.
“Violent acts, assaults, and bullying will not be tolerated in the Clark County School District, and those who choose to engage in these activities will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Superintendent Jesus F. Jara in an emailed statement.
If there’s a fight in the classroom what can a teacher do?
The Clark County Education Association says teachers aren’t trained to break up fights. Under the collective bargaining agreement with CCSD, schools are supposed to have a plan in place for teachers to call for help, like school police officers, if something happens.
“In that moment, will the assistance get there quick enough? That’s the issue," said union president Maria Neisess.
Clark County School District teachers say they are working together on how to de-escalate a fight and prevent it from getting out of control.
RELATED: Teacher shares struggle with uptick in CCSD student violence
Teacher Carmen Andrews has spent nearly two decades in a CCSD classroom and she takes the safety of her students seriously.
“I care about my students so much, there’s no way I could not get involved because I could not physically stomach seeing one of my students hurting one of my students,” she said.
