Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: School safety

JeffCo Parents Demand Answers After Hidden School Safety Audit Surfaces
Colorado Public Radio, Approved, Local

JeffCo Parents Demand Answers After Hidden School Safety Audit Surfaces

By Molly Cruse | CPR News Two weeks ago, Lindsay Datko filed a public records request for a school safety audit from JeffCo Public Schools. Datko — a parent of three children in the district and executive director of the parent advocacy group Jeffco Kids First — said she first learned about the audit through school committee meeting minutes. But when she requested the records through Colorado’s open records law, she said the district initially told her only hard copies existed and that they had been destroyed. Now, Jeffco Public Schools parents and advocates are demanding answers.  The unreleased audit was conducted by a student safety company called Gaggle. The report uncovered more than 150 “imminent threats” just weeks before the September 2025...
Jeffco Parents Demand Answers After Hidden Safety Audit Flagged 153 Threats
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Jeffco Parents Demand Answers After Hidden Safety Audit Flagged 153 Threats

By Maggie Bryan | Denver7 A safety audit completed a month before the Evergreen High School shooting flagged 153 threats in Jeffco schools, including a hit list with around 15 names. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Jefferson County Public Schools parents are demanding answers after learning school district leaders received a third-party safety audit flagging 153 imminent threats — including a hit list with 15 names — a month before the shooting at Evergreen High School, but never released it to the public. The audit was conducted by student safety firm Gaggle, which was given access to the district's Google Workspace, including Google Drive and email accounts belonging to students, from February to April 2025. In the report, the company said it looked for questionable cont...
Douglas County Schools Reject Costly Metal Detector Expansion
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County Schools Reject Costly Metal Detector Expansion

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County School District board rejected a cost sharing program proposed by the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners that would have installed metal detectors at up to 10 district schools. Board members cited high and recurring costs, staffing concerns and a lack of conclusive research showing the systems reduce school violence at their April board meeting. “I appreciate the commissioners want to help us, but this is unsustainable for our district,” Director Kyrzia Parker said.  Deputy Superintendent Danelle Hiatt presented an overview of the county’s proposal, which included installing Evolv metal detection systems and backpack search stations and funding for two school resource officers at rural e...
Polis Signs Sweeping Colorado Law Changes Affecting Farms Schools And Public Office
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Signs Sweeping Colorado Law Changes Affecting Farms Schools And Public Office

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis signed 25 bills into law Monday, bringing changes that will affect workers, families, schools, and local governments across Colorado. The new laws deal with a range of issues – from overtime rules for farmworkers to limits on lawmakers holding multiple offices, along with school safety upgrades and new standards for dementia care facilities. These measures — some technical, others sweeping — reflect the wide array of issues lawmakers tackled during a session defined by tight budgets and competing priorities. No double-dipping As introduced, Senate Bill 59 would have prohibited state lawmakers — including newly elected members of the Colorado General Assembly — from holding a second elected office a...
What records show about Poudre School District’s role in student ICE walkouts
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

What records show about Poudre School District’s role in student ICE walkouts

By RMV Staff Nearly half of Lesher Middle School’s 766 students walked out of class on Feb. 2 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of a wave of student demonstrations that Poudre School District says it neither encouraged nor discouraged. PSD is among the 10 largest school systems in Colorado. Emails and internal records reviewed by RMV suggest the situation may not have been as hands-off as described. What happened during the walkouts Over the following week, other district schools followed Lesher Middle School’s (LMS) lead, as nearly 900 6th–8th graders from over half of the district’s neighborhood middle schools and approximately 1,000 high school students walked out of class to protest ICE.  Students left school property, marched along Fort Colli...
20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child
Jeffco Kids First, Approved, Commentary, Local

20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child

By Ben Brickweg | Commentary, Jeffco Kids First A Jeffco father and attorney answered our call to help fill the courtroom for the Chloe Castro sentencing (Jeffco Schools social worker who admitted to sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust—her own IEP special needs student). This is what he shared on social media when he returned home. I was in the Jefferson County Courthouse earlier this afternoon, and the world doesn’t make sense anymore. I watched a school social worker admit to sexual assault of a student and get sentenced to probation with zero prison time. I don’t spend time in court. I’m a transaction guy. People hear “lawyer” and assume I live in a courtroom, but that’s not my world. Maybe in another life I would have been good at it, but not this o...
Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice February marked the first time this school year that monthly Safe2Tell totals outpaced the same period during the previous year. Three thousand and eight reports. Eighteen percent higher than January. And still, the question that the data doesn't answer: what actually happens once a report is filed? That gap, between the volume of concerns being submitted and the public record of what follows, sits at the center of a system that now handles tens of thousands of tips each year from Colorado students, parents, and community members. The Colorado Attorney General's Office released the February figures earlier this month, along with a press release citing interventions in student safety and welfare concerns.  Attor...
Former Jeffco Educator Claims District Made Her A Scapegoat After Ex-Boyfriend Scandal
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Former Jeffco Educator Claims District Made Her A Scapegoat After Ex-Boyfriend Scandal

By Sage Kelley | The Denver Gazette Courtney Capek claims her career was completely altered by the actions of another. The Lakewood native returned to the school she graduated from, Green Mountain High School, in 2023 to begin her career teaching and establishing a new era for the school’s theater program. Her dream job didn’t last long, though, with the district not renewing her contract just a few weeks after her ex-boyfriend, James Michael Chevrier, was arrested by the Lakewood Police Department on charges of sexual assault on a child. “What was done to me is not OK. I’m tired of being quiet about it,” she told The Denver Gazette. “The district essentially used me as their scapegoat to say, ‘Hey, we did something’.” ‘Pure disgust’ Capek and Chev...
DPS Board Hears Divided Testimony On Proposed Immigration Safe Zone Policy
DENVER7, Approved, Local

DPS Board Hears Divided Testimony On Proposed Immigration Safe Zone Policy

By Tyler Melito | Denver7 The proposed policy aims to make schools, bus stops and school events 'safe zones' from ICE. DENVER, Colo. - As tensions rise between ICE agents and communities across the country, Colorado's largest school district is considering a new policy that they say will protect students. The board is proposing a policy that would create safe zones at all district-managed and charter school properties — including school buildings, grounds, bus stops, school transportation and school-sponsored events — for students families and employees. On Thursday, the community had the chance to weigh in. "Protect and defend our immigrant students, parents, families, community members and employees, ensuring they are safe, valued, respected and ...
Denver Public Schools Considers Safe Zone Policy Limiting ICE Access Without Warrants
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Public Schools Considers Safe Zone Policy Limiting ICE Access Without Warrants

By: Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 DENVER — A Denver Public Schools (DPS) hearing is scheduled Thursday to discuss labeling all school property as "safe zones" for students, families and staff. This includes bus stops, transportation and school-sponsored events. The proposed policy would require United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE )agents and other federal officials to present a warrant before any student can be questioned or detained. Students at DPS have been contacted by ICE during lunch and dismissal, according to Denver-based advocacy group Movimiento Poder said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7

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