Arizona schools chief Douglas makes safety priority for new session

PHOENIX — Students have been returning to school in Arizona for the past two weeks, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas said she hoped they were returning to safer classes.

“I’m very proud of the work the (Arizona Department of Education) has done,” about student safety, Douglas said Monday on KTAR 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Various agencies, she said, including Gov. Doug Ducey’s office and law enforcement, have partnered with school districts to “make sure we put the pieces in place to do everything possible to protect our children.”

With the frequency of campus shootings, Douglas, who is running for re-election in an elbow-to-elbow GOP primary, said she’d like to see more resource officers on school grounds and more control of campuses.

“I thank God every day we have not had to face one of those incidents here in Arizona,” she said, pointing to lessons learned from the national tragedies.

Securing campuses would go far, she said: “We control who gets on and off. … The days of a campus where there is no fencing around it anymore and anybody can come and go as they please, I believe, are long gone.”

Deadly high school shootings have taken place this year in California, Florida, Kentucky and Texas. Each time, a student or a young former student was taken into custody.

“It always comes to light there was some sort of mental health issue. … We need to make sure we take those (cries for help) very seriously while not taking away someone’s rights or their liberty.

“It seems like the kids on campus always know (who could be struggling). How do we take those students seriously when they raise red flags to us?”

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