RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond School Board member Mariah White (2nd District) said she stood by her decision not to expel a student at Thomas Jefferson High School who allegedly threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot their teacher.
"Our decision we made as a disciplinary committee board, I am fine with it, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that we did follow the protocol, we defined the problem, we evaluated the situation, and we resolved it by making a provision for the student," White said.
White said she could not talk about what that provision was outside of a closed session.
She initially declined to talk to CBS 6 about the decision but changed her mind after CBS 6 published a story on Monday.
In that story, CBS 6 detailed concerns raised by educators at the school about the student's return to the classroom.
They reported the student had a fascination with guns, painted a picture of themself holding a gun, talked about school shootings, and felt isolated and had no friends. Those teachers also said they had reported concerns about the student for more than a year.
"Those things you said you have from students and everyone else, I didn't see those, so I can't base my decision based on something you said you had seen," White said when asked about those concerns.
The situation came to a head in January when the student allegedly threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot a teacher in the face.
Richmond Police charged the student with threatening bodily harm to the teacher.
White, along with school board members Kenya Gibson and Nicole Jones made up the disciplinary committee panel last Thursday which voted against the recommendation of the hearing officer to expel the student. Their votes on the case are not public record.
Gibson declined to comment citing student privacy concerns, and Jones did not return our call.
White said the decision not to expel the student was a collaborative effort with members of the RPS administration team who also take part in the disciplinary committee hearings.
When the decision was made, White said she didn't know if the student would be allowed back into TJHS.
"No, we did not know that decision because that was the experts. They have to do what they have to do and put in place and then they come back to the board, and then once they can tell us they have these things in place to ensure that it is safe for everyone, then we come back and we will make that final decision as a board," White said.
Multiple teachers at the school said they were scared for their lives because they did not know if the student had received any mental health treatment, or what type of interventions the school would have in place to keep students and staff safe.
But White said students and staff have nothing to worry about.
"You're safe. We put the provisions in place to ensure that every day you come to the school for the next eight weeks you are safe," White said.
She added that the board members who made the decision followed RPS protocol listed in the Student Code of Responsible Ethics (SCORE).
SCORE lists "threatening or instigating violence, injury or harm to a staff member" as a level 5 infraction that requires the notification of law enforcement.
Level 5 is the most egregious type of infraction.
There are a variety of responses and interventions that can be used for level 5 infractions, including referral for expulsion, school reassignment, alternative placement, threat assessment, referral to law enforcement, long-term suspension, and returning the child to the school setting with appropriate supports and interventions.
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