SAN ANTONIO – Students fighting at school is nothing new, but the fights are becoming more publicized and more dangerous.
With social media at students’ fingertips, the secrecy around fighting in schools is becoming nonexistent.
A parent, who wanted to remain anonymous for his child’s safety, has a student who attends an East Central Independent School District campus. The parent told KSAT that a group of students at the East Central ISD school instigates fights.
“It’s a group of guys, and they call you out to fight,” the parent told KSAT. “If you don’t want to fight them, then they jump you. And they livestream it, and they post it.”
East Central ISD has not provided KSAT with any information regarding how many fights the district has reported over the last couple of years. Instead, the district asked KSAT to place a Public Information Request and sent KSAT the following statement:
“Social Media ‘Fight Pages’: These pages, often found on platforms like Instagram, are typically student-run and have become common across many school districts. Meta (Instagram’s parent company) does not grant school districts any special access to remove these pages or identify the creators. Even when we successfully report and have one removed, it is frequently replaced by another almost immediately. In addition, some of the fight videos circulating online did not actually occur at East Central ISD schools, adding to the challenges we face.
Behavioral and Social Influences: We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment. It’s also essential to recognize the role of both home upbringing and social media in influencing student behavior. Many behaviors we see reflect broader societal issues, including the impact of online social platforms, which often amplify and encourage these behaviors. A balanced story might also examine these underlying influences and their role in shaping student conduct.”
East Central ISD’s website has a “Behavioral Health” section which outlines the following initiatives:
- Mental health measures are being implemented, teaching social-emotional standards throughout our curriculum to help students navigate interpersonal relations and manage their emotions.
- We have a Communities in Schools case worker at every campus, along with dedicated counselors.
- Every campus has a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology assigned as well as a Comprehensive Case Management Team that facilitates EC Cares wrap-around support services for students, families, and staff.
The district also said that “fight pages” are not exclusive to East Central ISD.
“Broader Context in Other Districts: These “fight pages” are not exclusive to East Central ISD. Similar pages can be found for nearly every district in Bexar County, with some campuses having multiple versions and variations like “caught in the act” pages. I’ve included a list of examples from other districts found through a basic search. This list does not include all of them. Hopefully, due diligence will be paid in this regard.”
The list of examples included more than 30 hyperlinks to student fight pages across South Texas. KSAT reached out to other school districts about the number of fights they have had.
San Antonio ISD and North East ISD said they saw an increase in fights from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year.
In the 2022-2023 school year, NEISD had 815 physical confrontations and 23 fights.
NEISD described physical confrontations as “lower-level fights with minimal or no campus disruption or injury. e.g., push/shove, serious argument, and slap/hit.” Fighting consists of “repetitive fights (two or more in the same year), with injury and/or significant campus disruption. e.g., punching, kicking, etc.”
In the 2023-2024 school year, NEISD had 869 physical confrontations and 40 fights.
SAISD reported 952 fighting or mutual combat incidents during the 2023-24 school year, which is up from 825 fighting or mutual combat incidents in 2022-23.
A student, who also wanted to remain anonymous for her safety, told KSAT that they recently witnessed a fight at a SAISD school that ended with a student having a seizure.
“In the split second where he threw his backpack off, he picked him up and then just threw him on the ground,” the student said. “He lost consciousness and he blacked out and he couldn’t remember. He can barely remember that day.”
SAISD and NEISD shared their plans with KSAT to address and reduce fighting incidents within their districts.
“We use recommended strategies from (the Texas Education Agency) TEA’s School Mental Health Guide and Toolkit, such as restorative practices,” SAISD said in a statement to KSAT. “We use restorative practices to build a strong sense of community in schools, to teach interpersonal skills, to repair harm when conflict occurs, and to proactively meet students’ needs — including those that result from trauma in or outside of school — so misbehavior is less common.”
KSAT requested additional details about “restorative practices.” SAISD said the following are a few examples of the campus’s strategies:
- Peace Rooms to provide the space and support for students to process strong feelings, work through conflict, and build skills
- Restorative Practices Circles to help students work through conflict by listening to others' perspectives, understanding how choices impact ourselves and others, and repairing relationships
- Teaching mental health awareness and interpersonal/social, emotional, and behavioral skill-building lessons
- Re-entry meetings when students return from DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs) to discuss support needs and create a plan for success
NEISD shared the following initiatives with KSAT that are aimed at reducing fighting within the district:
- North East ISD received an ARPA grant to support mental health and specifically target assaultive behaviors and recidivism. Grant activities include:
- Inclusion of a District Safe and Healthy Social Worker that engages families of students who are referred for placement at the Northeast Alternative Center providing wrap-around support and services to include counseling, basic needs, community agency navigation, and intervention strategies.
- Two District Safe and Healthy Counselors that support students in elementary with prior disciplinary histories. The counselors engage students in a small group setting and teach emotion regulation and coping strategies coupled with a following group to empower students with leadership characteristics.
- The District contracts with UT Health-San Antonio to employ four additional Counselors (LPC) that provide support to the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) services we already receive, with in-person counseling, case staffing, and conferencing.
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