Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD to form Student Safety Task Force after violent fight caught on camera
A violent school fight among students in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District has heightened concerns over adequate response to those fights.
Video of the graphic fight between two students from HEB ISD's Harwood Junior High School shows what some have deemed an assault on school safety: Adult staffers — teachers — from the school not immediately jumping in to stop the fight.
The Bedford Police Department said just after 8 a.m., a Bedford officer serving as the School Resource Officer at Harwood Junior High responded to the student fight, where a school staff member was seen separating the students.
The SRO "immediately took control of one student," the report states. The school nurse arrived and treated the other student for injuries. BPD said it investigated the incident and has made its referral to the Tarrant County Juvenile Justice Center.
Steven Poole represents teachers aligned with the United Educators Association, teachers contracted with HEB ISD.
Poole said districts statewide have safety plans to deal with fights and other acts of violence, but asking teachers to immediately intervene is a plan few teachers fight for.
"Teachers didn't go into the profession to have noses broken, arms broken," said Poole. "They're not going to be indifferent about the situation, but in a split second, they decide if they put themselves in harm's way, jumping in the middle of a fight."
Wylie ISD, which has a similar-sized school system to HEB ISD, has designated adults to step in; however, teachers are not required to do so.
The superintendent for HEB ISD has called the fight response "unacceptable," saying, "If the processes in place for the school district did not prevent this fight from occurring, then we must examine and be prepared to change that process that allowed these events to unfold."
For HEB ISD, that means a School Safety Task Force to respond and act on fights is being established and the district is looking for community members to serve on that task force.
The district said the task force, ideally comprised of 60-70 members, will "examine current processes and laws surrounding prevention and response to inappropriate student behavior." The group would then report their findings and recommendations to the HEB ISD Board of Trustees.
The largest portion of the task force is expected to be parents of current HEB ISD students, the district said, as well as teachers, administrators, and other District employees; representatives from law enforcement and PTA; and a few high school students.
The district asks those interested in serving on the task force to fill out a questionnaire by Friday, April 11.
