Security protocols leave threat responses up to schools

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

School systems nationwide rely on high-level expertise from the U.S. Secret Service and others as they work to stay vigilant for signs of potential student violence, training staff, surveilling social media and urging others to tip them off. However, when it comes to deciding how to respond to a possible threat, it’s the local educators who make the call. In the shooting at an Oxford Township, Michigan high school, authorities say the 15-year-old student charged with killing four peers was allowed to remain in school despite troubling behavior. Experts say setting blanket policies to always remove students for certain behaviors would keep many from being helped.