As the school year begins, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of students at several Houston Independent School District schools.
Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, claims that defibrillators at multiple HISD schools, including Marshall Middle School, are not functioning properly. These allegations come after a tragic incident last week where a student at Marshall Middle School collapsed during gym class and later passed away.
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Anderson stated that several staff members reported that the school’s defibrillator failed to work when it was needed most.
“They said that the nurse or someone went and got the defibrillator. They tried to use it on the boy, but it was not working,” Anderson explained.
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She also mentioned that similar issues have been reported at four other schools within the district.
Anderson expressed concerns about the lack of support for school nurses when it comes to maintaining life-saving equipment. She mentioned that some nurses had proactively communicated their needs for defibrillator maintenance but were met with resistance due to financial constraints.
“In the past, the district did have a contractor who came out to service them every year. But this past year, it has been left up to the school to make sure that they are serviced,” Anderson said. “A couple of nurses have reached out to me and said that they have told the principals that they needed batteries in pads and have put in request for those things, and those requests have been denied, because of budget cuts and things of that nature. And so, one nurse told me she put in the request again. She put it in before she left in May. She put it again this year, and it was again denied.”
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Anderson also highlighted another critical issue: the absence of necessary training for school staff in using defibrillators. She pointed out that this lack of training, which is typically paired with CPR instruction, has left many staff members unprepared to effectively use the equipment in emergencies.
“I heard this past year there was no training. This AAD training is given at the same time as CPR training for nurses, PE,” Anderson explained. “None of that happened this past year. So because for whatever reason, district cuts or whatever, that did not happen. So we have a number of people on campuses now who may not even be trained to use this equipment. Even if it was working. You can’t just use it because you is there. You have to be trained to use it properly.”
Anderson voiced her frustration over what she sees as misplaced priorities within the school district.
“I’m appalled because I see the waste going on in HISD, renovations at Hattie Mae White, spin bikes that children can’t use because they were too large for children. I see new vehicles being purchased and you telling me that is too much to spend $240 for a battery on a piece of lifesaving equipment. If you say you care about children and your priorities children, your actions need to align with it.”