First report into Oxford High security and safety policies released
Following the Oxford High School shooting, Oxford Community Schools has conducted dozens of threat assessments on students, but officials have not consistently inquired whether the students assessed have access to firearms, according to findings in the first third-party report examining school security and safety policies in the school district.
The nearly-200-page report released Monday evening by the global investigative firm Guidepost Solutions details Oxford's current policies and procedures around assessing whether students pose a threat to school safety, suicide risk intervention policies and other security measures in place in the district. Read the report here.
The firm found that the high school’s current safety policies, procedures and practices are “satisfactory and appropriate,” oftentimes following best practices or even exceeding standards in some cases.
But it also highlights gaps that may still leave the district vulnerable. In one instance, a former security staff member left a folding knife unattended. Guidepost staff members also observed some students not following Oxford’s clear-backpack-only policy, using opaque bags.
In the case of threat assessments, which are typically conducted when a student exhibits concerning behavior, Oxford officials have not consistently asked about firearm access. The threat assessment team was documented to have inquired about access to weapons in three out of 20 instances reviewed in the winter semester of 2022 and in 21 out of 28 assessments during the fall semester of 2022. Guidepost recommends consistent inquiry about assessed students' access to firearms. Of 44 suicide assessments reviewed, officials documented inquiring about firearms twice.
However, the report notes that the district currently searches students and their belongings in every threat assessment, "regardless of whether an administrator or security resource officer has found there is reasonable suspicion" to search the student.
Guidepost’s recommendations include:
That threat assessments always involve school-stationed law enforcement officers.
The district should offer threat assessment training to more staff members, such as teachers. Currently, counselors, social workers, administrators and school law enforcement officers are trained.
That the school resume conducting safety drills. According to the report, Oxford High has not documented completed drills since November 2021, the month of the deadly shooting, likely due to trauma sustained by students and staff during the attack.
Guidepost concludes that Oxford may be conducting too many threat assessments for conduct that doesn't actually meet the criteria for a threat, 300% more than a school similar to its size, which might be an unsustainable workload for staff members on threat assessment teams.
Oxford High’s PA system is unintelligible in certain areas, which could hinder emergency notification.
This first report will not be the only from Guidepost Solutions, hired in May 2022 to conduct an independent review around the circumstances of the shooting and school security policies, after parents and students demanded an investigation around possible security and safety shortcomings. Future reports will independently investigate events before, during and after the shooting, according to Guidepost.
According to the report, school board members have cooperated with investigators and provided requested documents, records and other materials. But cooperation by school staff members is voluntary and Guidepost officials wrote that while many school employees have cooperated with the firm, "many employees have refused to cooperate with our investigation and speak with us."
The shooting on Nov. 30, 2021, left four students dead: Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin. Six students and a teacher were also injured in the attack.
The 15-year-old gunman, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty in November to charges including first-degree murder and terrorism. He awaits sentencing.
But beyond criminal investigations, parents of victims and community members have clamored for more transparency from the district around the shooting. Many have raised concerns around troublesome signs exhibited by Crumbley in the months and weeks before the school shooting, including his graphic drawings and notes.
The scope of the investigation, according to the firm, includes:
School policies and procedures, including emergency drills, social media monitoring and bag searches.
The shooter's history, as well as school officials' knowledge of the shooter before the event.
Whether school staff followed training and best practices in responding to the shooter's behavior before the shooting.
Security measures and emergency response during the shooting.
Support by the school district to students and staff following the shooting.
Question-and-answer sessions with Guidepost, open to the public, are scheduled for Thursday at the following times and locations:
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Oxford Township Board Room, 300 Dunlap Road, Oxford
3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Oxford Middle School Commons, 1420 Lakeville Road, Oxford
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.: Oxford Middle School Cafeteria, 1420 Lakeville Road, Oxford
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: First report into Oxford High security and safety policies released
