LPS reminds parents, students of safety protocols following mass shooting in Texas

Joel said he expects many parents to pull their kids out of school in the wake of Tuesday's news. 

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Lincoln Board of Education began its meeting on Tuesday with a moment of silence after 21 people, including 19 children, were gunned down at an elementary school in Texas earlier in the day.

LPS Superintendent Steve Joel also reminded the board and students, parents and staff that the school district has protocol in place for situations like these.

“We can’t let our guards down,” Joel said during the meeting. “At LPS, we are going to continue to follow our established safety protocols put into place to fortify our schools from potential threats.”

The district said its safety and threat assessment team takes a look at a variety of factors when preparing for such events. Those include:

• Heightened awareness of activity in and around our schools and property, immediately reporting anything of concern to law enforcement.
• Initiating standard response protocols when needed.
• Continued communication and coordination with local, state and federal law enforcement.

Joel said he expects many parents to pull their kids out of school in the wake of Tuesday’s news.

“Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day,” Joel said on Tuesday. “We’ve heard from a lot of parents, tomorrow is going to be a day where they decide to keep their children home because of what’s happening in the country. And that’s sad.”

LPS asks anyone who sees or hears something that makes them feel unsafe to contact LPS security, Lincoln Police at 402-441-6000 or through the green Safe to Say button on the LPS website.