SANTA FE, Texas – A Santa Fe High School student accused of making a verbal threat toward a teacher was arrested Monday afternoon, district officials said.
The 16-year-old student, who has not been identified, is charged with making a terroristic threat to a public servant, a misdemeanor.
The school's principal said in a letter to parents that the student was removed from campus and discipline was taken according to the school's code of conduct.
Officials did not release details of the threat.
Below is the full text of the letter sent to parents Tuesday:
"The safety of our students and staff is always the top priority. We are providing this information to keep you updated about any safety concerns that occur on our campus.
"Yesterday afternoon a verbal threat was made directly to a teacher at the high school. Santa Fe ISD Police Department, and our administrators confirmed that this threat was directed towards this teacher. The student was arrested and charged with terroristic threat on a public servant.
"Due to federal and state privacy laws, information regarding student records is prohibited which includes disciplinary actions. As a result, we are not able to discuss the details of the threat or the consequences for this particular student. However, the student has also been removed from the campus and appropriate discipline was applied according to the Student Code of Conduct.
"This information is being shared with you because we want you to know that we will immediately act to investigate all reports concerning school safety, and we want to thank our parents, staff and students for continuing these conversations and reporting what they hear so that appropriate actions can be taken.
"As a reminder, in addition to monitoring, we encourage parents and students to take part in keeping our schools safe by reporting anything or anyone who makes them feel uncomfortable through the Tribal Tips anonymous reporting system. This program provides a safe and anonymous system to give information about criminal activity and threats, without fear of retaliation. If you “See Something, Say Something.” Tribal Tips can be accessed on the police department’s website.
"The District appreciates your continued support as we ensure a safe learning environment for all our students and staff.
"If you have questions or concerns, please contact the campus at 409-927-3100."
Parents and other family members of Santa Fe High School students said this is the last thing their community needs.
"It's extremely frustrating because, as parents, I feel like we are not doing our job as parents to educate our children," said Stacy David, whose son attends Santa Fe High School.
"It's not cool. It ain't funny," said Eugene Garcia, whose granddaughter goes to the school. "We've already seen that. We've already seen the results of [the threats]."
Family members are asking other parents to talk to their children and show struggling students where they can get help.
"There is an appropriate way. They do have a team inside of the school that the children can talk to at any point in time, and we also have the Resiliency Center," David said.
District officials said the charge is on file with the district attorney’s office and the court. The investigation was completed before the arrest, and this matter will be heard in Galveston County Juvenile Court.
It's the second incident this school year.
Earlier this month, two students were removed from campus after they sent threatening text messages to fellow students.