Students speak out on school safety, recommend increasing mental health support

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Students from Lexington high schools shared their opinions on school safety Thursday night with the District Safety Advisory Council. This is an issue fresh on many students’ minds after many different events have happened across the district this year like the lockdown at Henry Clay in October due to a gun being found in a classroom or the incident of the gun being found during bag checks at Paul Laurence Dunbar last week.

Two big topics of discussion among the Lexington high school student panel are metal detectors and mental health.

“We all don’t really know where to begin and how to make sure we are doing the right things and taking the right steps to keep going,” says Carrice Flowers, a student at Bryan Station High School.

Since 2018, Fayette County Public Schools have followed a 10-point Safety Investment Plan adding measures like metal detectors, school resource officers and mental health counselors to schools. But as some students told the council, some of those steps aren’t as foolproof as one would hope.

“The people who are checking our bags will go super fast in order to get everyone through and you have to because if you don’t then we’re going to be late and we’re going to be penalized,” says Farryn Beatty, a Lafayette High School student. “The only thing is that means that I will see people opening my bags and then they’re not even looking at the bottom.”

As far as police officers in schools, the students had mixed reactions. Most say the officers were seen more as mental health advisors or “parent figures” than the police. Others say the presence of officers at school made students feel uncomfortable.

“Coming from Bryan Station, which is a majority minority school, I know that having a lot of police officers can cause a lot of tension in some of the students, and rightfully so,” says Lily DeRosett, a student at Bryan Station High School.

“Some of our students at Tates Creek do not trust the officers due to certain instances that happened throughout the year, such as pepper spray being used for petty fights that pepper spray did not have to be used,” says Devan Young, a Tates Creek High School student.

The students overall asking for more mental health resources and support to help them feel safer in every aspect.

“Physical safety is so important and I get that but we need more mental health accommodations,” says Zoe Johnson, a student at Lafayette High School.

The next District Safety Advisory Council meeting is set for February 16th at 6 P.M. at 450 Park Place. The next meeting will be a panel of experts addressing the council on a variety of safety topics.