Tune Into Life Teens (TILT) engaged the Lake Travis ISD School Board on March 27, 2019 during the Audience Comment Section of the agenda. The TILT students who were in attendance were Kade Foster, grade 9 and Clay Dubay Horton, grade 12.
Both TILT students prepared 3 minute speeches, as is allowed by board rule during this portion of the school district’s general board meetings. The students stood with confidence and poise as they directly addressed the school board regarding their opinions, thoughts and solutions around LTISD students’ anxiety and depression as reported in the 2017 and 2018 school year Youth Risk Behavior Survey results (the YRBS is a survey vetted by the Center of Disease Control.)
The School Board listened intently as the students shared their voice regarding not feeling safe at school due to overcrowding as well as the ‘not if, but when’ a school shooting could occur, based on the recent YRBS data, which showed LTISD students reported higher than national averages in anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation than those of the national comparison.
The school board was unable to address the students directly due to the nature of the ‘audience comment’ section of school board meetings, which prohibits the school board members from speaking to the audience member.
