Houston ISD declines to elaborate about events leading to Marshall Middle School student’s death

HOUSTON – The Houston Independent School District officially declined Thursday to elaborate on the specifics regarding the death of Marshall Middle School student, Landon Payton.

• Houston ISD sup. Mike Miles says Marshall Middle School student who died suffered medical emergency during P.E. class

A district spokesperson said that the matter could be a part of future litigation, so HISD will not further comment about the event.

• ‘We continue to grieve’: HISD shares more information on death of Marshall Middle School student

That standard course of action for entities fearing future lawsuits, also includes silence about a safety issue for a much larger group of students, the working order of the life-saving Automated External Defibrillator (AED) at Marshall Middle School.

• Heartbroken father seeks answers after son dies following medical emergency at Marshall Middle School

KPRC 2 Investigates, over multiple days, has pressed HISD for information regarding the incident and the number of working AEDs at Marshall Middle School and district-wide.

• Houston ISD admits non-working defibrillators found during recent inspection of schools

“Every HISD campus has at least one working AED machine; on average, HISD campuses have three working AED machines, exceeding the state’s requirement of one machine per campus. We understand your interest in Marshall, but because of possible litigation, we won’t be able to share any more information with the press than has already been shared,” said HISD spokesperson, Richard Guerra.

• Houston ISD criticized for defibrillator failures amid budget cuts, says teachers’ union

Earlier an HISD spokesperson said that the school district had 1,038 machines, with 868 reported working.

• Would you be prepared to help during a medical emergency? Experts share tips on how to use an AED