Austin metro school districts grapple with surge in non-credible threats

Multiple students across 12 Austin metro school districts have been arrested and charged with felonies for making non-credible school threats since the start of the 2024-25 school year.

The threats have impacted attendance rates and student mental health at many campuses. In response, districts are upping safety and security measures, creating student threat awareness campaigns, and more.

Current situation

Andrew Fernandez, San Marcos CISD chief of communications, said the influx of false school threats and swatting calls that Texas districts have received this school year are likely a result of “copycat behaviors” following the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.

On Sept. 24, SMCISD received a non-credible school threat through an anonymous phone call that triggered over 80 police, fire and emergency service personnel to respond.

“The media has created a high profile when reporting these threats which lead to an increase,” Fernandez said. “The majority of swatting calls are conducted by international individuals utilizing Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which allows for a high level of anonymity and lack of accountability when attempting to create chaos and solicit a law enforcement response in schools.”

In neighboring district Hays CISD, six students have been arrested and charged with various felony offenses for creating threats against campuses so far this year.

HCISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy said that while the Hays County Sheriff’s Office budget covers overtime for officers investigating these threats, they typically result in a 5 to 10 percent drop in attendance for the day.

Texas school districts are funded based on average daily attendance, or the average number of students present each day during the school year. Each total percentage drop in ADA for the school year equates to about $1.5 million in funding loss, Savoy said, which “would make a mark” on the budget if the threats are sustained.

Following a non-credible threat at Emile Elementary in Bastrop ISD Sept. 16, the board of trustees requested a low-attendance day state waiver after the district’s attendance rate dropped to 82.3% on Sept. 17. The waiver allows for the instructional day to be excused from ADA funding calculations.

Two non-credible threats in Lake Travis ISD also impacted attendance, Superintendent Paul Norton said, noting a significant drop at the affected campuses as many parents picked up their children once the hold was lifted, or high school students’ parents allowed them to leave campus.

The threats also negatively impact the community’s trust with the district, he said.

“We have kids that don't come to school for several days because of a threat that was called in,” Norton said.

The impact

Districts are also grappling with how these threats affect the mental health of students, staff and the community. Fernandez said counselor visits have increased in SMCISD, but the impact these threats have extend beyond students.

“Although a high level of trust for the safety of students has been established and is constantly renewed between SMCISD and its stakeholders, the thought of sending a child to school and an act of targeted violence occurring is a lot for parents to process,” Fernandez said.

During a joint school threats press conference with nine Austin metro school districts Sept. 20, Austin ISD Police Chief Wayne Sneed said there were over 300 threat investigations in AISD last school year. These incidents also put a weight on a police department’s resources, he said.

“One particular case I can remember started at midnight and it did not end until 7 a.m. by the time they tracked down all the leads and figured it out,” Sneed said. “So we're knocking on doors in the early morning hours, waking up families.”

Something to know

During the press conference, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said there were at least 30 cases pending in his office relating to school threats.

However, the juvenile justice system was designed to “rehabilitate young people,” he said, working to not only balance the safety of the community but the long-term impacts of a juvenile’s involvement in the system.

“The process moves more quickly than the adult process does, and our judges in the juvenile system have far more discretion than judges do in our adult system,” Garza said.

According to Garza, once a juvenile makes a threat and is detained:

• A hearing is held where a judge decides if there is evidence of probable cause that the juvenile committed a crime, such as making a terroristic threat
• The risk to the community is assessed
• The judge decides if the juvenile should or should not remain detained
• If detained, the juvenile is entitled to hearings every 10 days

Districts such as HCISD and Eanes ISD have implemented campaigns—“Threat Regret” and “It’s No Joke,” respectively—to inform students about the affects of making threats against campuses.

Georgetown ISD officials say the district has not received any threats for the 2024-25 school year, but has already implemented school safety measures recommended by the Texas School Safety Center, including the creation of a behavioral threat assessment team.

The team works with assistant principals, counselors, school-based therapists and school resource officers to identify students who are a threat to themselves or others, and intervene accordingly.

Other districts such as Pflugerville ISD, which received at least three non-credible threats in September, are also continuing to implement safety measures on its campuses.

In a letter to parents Sept. 23, Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said the district is adding safety vestibules at front offices; installing entry-resistant film on first-floor windows; and conducting weekly door inspections to ensure all classroom doors remain closed and locked.

Districts have also provided a variety of anonymous tip sources for students and other community members to report threats seen on social media or heard in person.

• Austin ISD: Capital Area Crime Stoppers
• Bastrop ISD: Tip Line
• Eanes ISD: Westlake Watch
• Georgetown ISD: Stay Safe!
• Hays CISD: Hays HopeLine or Hays County Crime Stoppers
• Hutto ISD: Anonymous Alerts
• Lake Travis ISD: Cavs Who Care
• Leander ISD: Anonymous Alerts
• Liberty Hill ISD: Anonymous Tips
• Pflugerville ISD: Anonymous Alerts
• Round Rock ISD: Anonymous Reporting
• San Marcos CISD: Rattler Tip Line or Hays County Crime Stoppers