Anonymous Threat Closes Perry County Schools Today, Sheriff Investigating
The new school year in Perry County began just 18 days ago, and there has already been a threat. The school system closed all schools today in response to authorities there receiving a telephoned anonymous threat on Sunday. Officials say the closure is out of an abundance of caution as the Perry County Sheriff's Department investigates.
The announcement was posted on the Perry County Schools website.
"The decision affects students, faculty, and staff at both R.C. Hatch High School and Francis Marion School and was made in the best interest of those who learn and work in the building," the post stated.
The post informed parents and students that, "...today’s announcement reflects that the safety measures PCS has put in place work: when stakeholders see something, they say something. Please use the Anonymous Alerts feature found on the PCS website to report any concerning behavior."
Each school threat incident is handled locally in Alabama, but a new law that went into effect now standardizes how threats are handled.
The Alabama Legislature enacted a new statewide school‑threat law that became effective July 1st that requires local schools statewide to follow the same procedures.
Any student making a terrorist threat in the first or second degree must be removed from regular classes and cannot return until criminal proceedings and a psychiatric or psychological evaluation and counseling are completed.
Alabama does not publish a statewide tally of school threats, and neither the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency nor the State Department of Education maintains a public database. However, during the last legislative session, lawmakers called the frequency of threats "far too often."
So far this school year, there have been 16 K-12 school shootings nationwide that ended with injuries or deaths, according to the Education Week database.
Perry County schools are expected to reopen Tuesday,
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