Sending children to school is causing many parents significant distress.
“Being a parent in America is pretty hard to wrap your head around,” said HISD parent Liz Silva.
Ongoing threats and incidents of violence have left HISD parents like Silva anxious, and the current policy regarding classroom doors in NES isn’t helping.
“It definitely seemed like a concern,” Silva said.
During a meeting last week, the Houston Federation of Teachers presented a grievance to the school board about the open-door policy. According to the district, the policy is intended to “… maintain an internal environment that is joyful and supports our primary educational mission—providing high-quality instruction. Therefore, classroom doors shall remain open, but the lock mechanism on the door shall be engaged.”
At a recent special hearing, district representatives argued that all exterior gates and doors are locked, and teachers are permitted to close doors during emergencies, making the policy safe.
“I wish it was as simple as saying, ‘Let’s just close the doors, and we won’t have any issues,’ but we know that won’t necessarily solve all our problems,” said HISD representative Stephanie Hamm.
The school board voted 6-0 to deny the grievance and uphold the policy.
Parents and education advocates argue that a truly safe environment is a joyful one, and they question why the board is unwilling to listen to families.
“Closing the classroom doors was a simple step they could have taken to show parents they are listening to us,” Silva said. “It’s unacceptable that they wouldn’t budge on something so basic.”
