LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With violent assaults being reported at Clark County School District campuses across the valley with three in one day Wednesday. A question is being asked. What happens to the students when they are arrested if they get into a fight or worse?
“Both the students and the teachers for a lack of a better word are fed up. They're just not okay with their circumstances."
Tavarris Garcia was saddened but not surprised by the arrest of a Grant Sawyer Middle School student Wednesday. CCSD police said the eighth-grader was threatening teachers at the school with scissors. It's just one of several fights and other incidents reported across CCSD in the past several weeks.
"The teachers are clearly acting frustrated. The students are acting out,” he said.
RELATED STORY: Clark County School District reconvening Expulsion Review Board, single entry points for schools
That student was arrested by police. But what happens afterward? Reuben D'Silva, a CCSD teacher who was part of the district's school safety committee tells News 13 that the student would immediately be removed.
"An incident where a teacher is assaulted, that individual is going to be taken into a room and secluded and held there with administrators present,” he said.
CCSD Police say a student under arrest would then be taken to a juvenile facility for processing.
Parents would be notified, and the student could request their presence before speaking with investigators. A court date is then set in juvenile court with the matter usually resolved in days.
RELATED STORY: Increase in violent incidents has many asking if Clark County School District is doing enough
Parents must meet with school administrators on the next steps before the student is even allowed back on campus if that is an option. If a student is expelled, they can go to continuation schools- or online learning. CCSD amended its expulsion recommendation policy last week to include physical fights that cause major disruptions. D'Silva says the measures are needed to protect teachers and students but cautions on any liberal use of expulsions.
"There is the sense that they're still young people. They're still children and they're making that transition and we've got to be careful in how we go about dealing with them,” he said.
Garcia says accountability is good, but he would also like to see staff and students work to build bridges.
"We need to get back to more compassion and understanding the individual needs of the children like we used to feel like,” Garcia said.
