Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentucky Department of Education, and Kentucky State Police are speaking out about this week’s rash of school threats. At least five online posts have threatened violence following last week’s deadly school shooting in Georgia and the I-75 shooting in Laurel County.
In his weekly Team KY briefing, Beshear noted some of the threats have even come from out of state.
“You’ve got these awful people from around the country who send them to every school in a state," said Beshear. "We knew we were going to get some threats because they were coming through Ohio, and they even called us to say expect these. That type of intent to create fear is just awful.”
Juveniles in Garrard, Marion, Adair, Muhlenberg, Lawrence, and Hardin counties have been arrested this week. The threats have also resulted in school closures for several districts in Eastern Kentucky as the manhunt continues for alleged I-75 shooter Joseph Couch.
"While we are concerned about the amount of time our students are missing due to these hoaxes, our primary concern is the safety and well-being of the students and staff members that are in our schools every day across Kentucky," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher in a statement.
Fletcher asked families to talk with their students about the consequences of making threats against schools, which can include suspensions, expulsions, and criminal charges. Under Kentucky law, threats of school violence can result in a charge of Terroristic Threatening, which is a felony that can carry up to ten years in prison.
"As a trooper and a father who has children in our school system, I can assure you that we will take any threat seriously and make arrests where possible," said Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr.
Still, Gov. Beshear is attempting to allay concerns about school safety.
“I’m proud of the work our schools have done," stated Beshear on Thursday. "The most recent report on school safety shows a significant increase over the past several years with SROs on campus.”
In August, the Kentucky Office of the State School Security Marshal released the annual School Safety Risk Assessment Report, which shows 99.8% of the Commonwealth's schools are following statutory safety requirements. The report shows that 1,325 schools are in compliance with the School Safety and Resiliency Act.
Since Beshear signed House Bill 63 in 2022, every Kentucky public school is required to employ a school resource officer and the number of SROs assigned to school campuses has increased to 790. That's a 28% increase over the last year and a 61% increase since the bill was signed into law.
