Irving ISD has been in the news recently for their treatment of Ahmed Muhamed, the 14 year old who brought a clock that authorities said looked like a bomb. Criticized for their handling of the situation, which including handcuffing the boy and detaining him, Irving ISD has stated that Ahmed wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information about why he had the device that looked like a bomb, and have stood behind their protocol for investigating the potential threat.
In the wake of the incident school policies all over the nation have been called into question. Legacy has dealt with objects resembling bombs before, one of which was late last school year. At the end of the year when the administration was no longer allowing students to bring large bags to school, a student brought a large bag with wheels to school. The administration followed their protocol, which is to pull the student into the office, ask them if they have something on their person that they shouldn’t have, and if they answer yes they are searched. If anything suspicious is found, the parents of the student are immediately contacted. According to Mr. Villegas the police officers are rarely involved. The police officers only deal criminal offenses or suspicions of them, such as bomb threats or tips from students.
“If we get a tip or someone sees something criminal they call us in,” Officer Ryan, the Legacy police officer, said. ”Terminology is just reasonable suspicion. Obviously we have to ere on the side of caution.”
The main criticism of Irving ISD’s handling of the situation was that Ahmed had reportedly asked to call his parents while he was detained, and was not allowed to until they were done interrogating him.
“We always want to contact the parents,” Mr. Villegas said, “If a name pops up a lot, we talk to them so we can solve a possible problem and be proactive.”
Irving ISD has defended their actions, stating any possible threat to student safety must be investigated. Whether or not it’s a bomb or not doesn’t matter, their job is to protect the student and they take that seriously.
“To the defense of the student, we give them the benefit of the doubt,” Mr. Villegas said. “But we have to take student safety seriously.”
Ahmed’s clock drew lots of attention, from a tweet from Obama and one from a NASA astronaut, to allegations of racial discrimination regarding Ahmed’s ethnicity and religion. Irving ISD stands behind their actions in investigating the object, and their protocol involving the police officers questioning Ahmed.
“We have specific rules and protocols we have to follow so a lot of our side [police] doesn’t come out,” Officer Ryan said.
