FORT THOMAS - A cryptic note that was interpreted as a death threat against three Highlands High School football players must be reported to Kentucky's Center for School Safety under state law.

        The Highlands student who told Fort Thomas police and school officials that the “hit list” found Sept. 19 in the trash can of a school restroom was a hoax was charged Monday with three counts of terroristic threatening, Fort Thomas Police Lt. Mark Dill said. The youth and his parents are cooperating with authorities, and the boy's parents have told police that they plan to seek counseling for him, he said.

REPORTABLE INCIDENTS

Even if police are not involved, a student who commits one of nine offenses that violate school board policy must be reported to the Center for School Safety if the school district takes one of five disciplinary actions:   • out-of-school suspension;   • expulsion with educational services, such as home instruction;   • expulsion without educational services;   • placement in an alternative education program   • corporal punishment.   The nine reportable offenses include:   • carrying or use of dangerous instruments,  • defying authority   • disturbing class   • failing to attend detention   • fighting, inappropriate sexual behavior   • the use of profanity or vulgarity   • making threats or intimidation   • smoking or chewing tobacco.   The reporting of the incident to the state does not have any impact on the student, but helps the state and parents measure the safety of the schools and the types of violations taking place.

        Lt. Dill would not confirm or deny whether the youth's name was one of the four on the “hit” note. He also would not confirm or deny whether the accused was a football player.

        Another recent incident that must be reported to the Center for School Safety is last week's three-day suspension of a 10-year-old student at Fort Thomas Schools' Woodfill Elementary - the top-ranked school in Northern Kentucky - for bringing a three-inch pocketknife to school. The knife was never opened and no one was threatened, the principal said at the time.

        However, a fight last Wednesday near Covington Independent Schools' Holmes High School campus that police said involved up to 100 youths is not required to be reported to state education officials.

        The melee, which resulted in two teenage girls being arrested after they fought police officers, kicking one male officer in the groin, was near school property and probably involved some Holmes students, but was not on school property.

        So it can go unreported.

        Many parents are aware that incident reporting has improved since the shootings in Paducah and at Columbine High School in Colorado, but most aren't sure what constitutes behavior severe enough to report to the state.

        It's Kentucky Safe Schools Week this week, with Gov. Paul Patton scheduled to participate in the Kentucky Safe Schools Week 2002 Teleconference from the Capitol in Frankfort today at 9:30 a.m.

        Educators, child experts and law enforcement will spend the morning discussing strides that have been made and the types of incidents that have taken place in the last week in Northern Kentucky.

        Whether an incident must be reported to the state can depend on anything from the nature of the violation to disciplinary actions handed down by school officials and/or law enforcement to when and where a violation occurs, said Dr. Lynn McCoy-Simandle, research associate for the Center for School Safety in Richmond, Ky.

        All qualifying violations must be reported to the state by June 30 of the school year in which they occur, and annual school safety reports are available on the center's Web site at www.kysafeschools.org.

        The latest report, from the 2000-2001 school year, shows that violations of law, ranging from serious crimes against people or property to less serious crimes that may result in arrest, “have declined significantly” in Kentucky schools.

        However, violations involving alcohol use, buying or receiving stolen property, sex-related offenses (excluding rape or prostitution), and possession of non-firearm weapons “appear resistant to change,” the report states.

        “We want schools to look at what kinds of interventions they can do to reduce their number of violent incidents,” Dr. McCoy-Simandle said. “ Any time kids are out of school because of a disciplinary problem, they're not getting an education. The bottom line is we want to help schools keep all kids safe, including those who aren't a disciplinary problem.”

        All violations of law that happen on school property during or outside of school hours or at a school-sanctioned event off campus must be reported to the Center for School Safety, Dr. McCoy-Simandle said.

        Under that criteria, last Wednesday's fight about nine blocks from the Holmes campus would not fall under the state's reporting requirements for violent acts in schools, she said.

        The Sept. 25 fight, which happened at 16th Street and Eastern Avenue a half-hour after school let out, resulted in a 14-year-old Holmes Middle School student being charged with disorderly conduct, failure to disperse, and resisting arrest - all misdemeanors - and a felony charge of third-degree assault, said Covington Police Sgt. Teal Nally. The girl's 16-year-old sister, a student at Holmes High School, was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and resisting arrest, he said. Police aren't releasing the girls' names because they are juveniles.

        Sgt. Nally said the six police officers who responded to a call of large fight found “as many as 100 juveniles” in the area, and reported there were “different fights in pockets of the crowd.”

        While most of the youths obeyed the police officers' orders to leave, the 14-year-old girl ignored police and continued to taunt them, Sgt. Nally said.

        Sgt. Nally said the fight ended only after police had subdued the two sisters with pepper ball rounds and handcuffs. He said officers shot both girls in the chest twice with pepper ball rounds, before handcuffing them.

        The girls were treated at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North, but did not have lasting effects from the irritant, Sgt. Nally said.

        The girls' father, who declined to comment until consulting with his lawyer, was arrested at the hospital and charged with disorderly conduct, second-degree criminal trespassing, and resisting arrest - all misdemeanors with a possible penalty of up to a year in jail upon conviction.

        The girls were released to the custody of their mother, Sgt. Nally said.

        Neither police nor Holmes High School Principal Bill Grein could give a motive for the altercation.“It's a little frustrating for us because we've taken a hit on it,” said Mr. Grein, who questioned how many of the youths gathered at the intersection were actually fighting.

        “From the information I have, the altercation had nothing to do with anything that happened in school. It was an incident that happened between two sisters out in the community.”

        Under the state's criteria, the incident involving the Woodfill pupil who brought a small pocketknife to school and the Highlands student who allegedly wrote the “hit list” would be reportable offenses, Dr. McCoy-Simandle said. The offenses fall into the nine reportable incident types and the punishments are within the five that mandate reporting.

        Elgin Emmons, principal of Highlands High School, said he discussed the “hit list” with the director of the Center for School Safety two days after it occurred, and he said school officials have shared all the evidence in the case with police.

        He added he expects Highlands' site-based council will review the school's handbook to ensure that “clear policies are in place” for students reporting any kind of harassment or threat, and make sure that no changes are required.

        Mr. Emmons added that Highlands had no expulsions last year, and the principal said he and the assistant principal meet with new students each year to review the part of the student handbook that defines what constitutes verbal or physical threats and how to report it.

        “I think (Highlands) is probably one of the safest schools in the country,” Mr. Emmons said.

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