Gonzales Elementary goes on ‘soft lockdown’ during incident

Gonzales Elementary School went on a “soft lockdown” early Thursday, Sept. 1, but the issue was resolved swiftly and without any injury or danger to students, district officials said.

A parent allegedly entered the school building without following proper visitation protocol, which triggered what the district calls a “soft lockdown” in which teachers locked their doors and continued to teach their students under a normal schedule with no further disruption. Also no one else is allowed to enter the campus.

Soft lockdowns are used whenever there is a situation that must be contained on campus, but there is no imminent or immediate danger to students or staff.

GISD police and district administration arrived quickly to the building and handled the situation with the irate parent. Administrators have not indicated if any charges were filed in connection with the incident and the individual involved was not identified. The school lifted the lockdown as of 8:15 a.m. Thursday.

According to GISD policies GKC (Local), GKC (Legal), GKA (Local) and GKA (Legal), all visitors are required to “first report to the campus main office. This shall apply to parents, volunteers, social service workers, invited speakers, maintenance and repair persons not employed by the District, vendors, representatives of the news media, former students, and any other visitors.”

Authorized district officials, including school resource officers and district police officers if applicable, may refuse to allow a person access to property under the district’s control in accordance with law.

District officials may request assistance from law enforcement in an emergency or when a person is engaging in behavior rising to the level of criminal conduct.

An unauthorized person who trespasses on the grounds of a school district commits a Class C misdemeanor. Meanwhile, a person, other than a primary or secondary grade student enrolled in the school, commits a Class C misdemeanor if the person, on school property or on public property within 500 feet of school property, alone or in concert with others, intentionally disrupts the conduct of classes or other school activities.

The school’s policies do include measures for a parent or individual to appeal such action against them.

In accordance with Education Code 37.105, a district official shall provide a person refused entry to or ejected from property under the district’s control written information explaining the right to appeal such refusal of entry or ejection under the district’s grievance process.

A person appealing under the district’s grievance process shall be permitted to address the board in person within 90 calendar days of filing the initial complaint, unless the complaint is resolved before the board considers it.