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Student fight videos at Tara High School spark safety concerns
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BATON ROUGE — Videos showing students fighting at an EBR high school, sent to WBRZ by a concerned parent, are raising questions about student safety and whether the recordings violate Louisiana law.
The parent, who declined to speak on camera, sent the videos along with questions about how students are able to record and post footage at Tara High School. The parent also called for more transparency and accountability from school leaders.
One of the videos appears to show a student describing a fight she took part in. WBRZ also found videos posted on social media showing students at other schools in the area fighting.
Under Louisiana law, setting up fights to videotape and post them on social media can be considered a crime. The law makes it illegal for a principal or accessory to a crime to record or livestream criminal activity or to post it for notoriety or publicity.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School System said in a statement that it is aware of the incidents and has addressed them in line with its Students' Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
"We are also deeply concerned when students choose to record, encourage or share videos of fights rather than seek help from an adult," the statement said. "Our students are expected to be part of the solution, not spectators of fights."
"When an incident occurs, students should immediately get an adult or school official rather than gather around, record, share or amplify the incident online," the statement said.
The school system said it will continue working with schools, families and law enforcement partners to reinforce its expectations and is taking steps to prevent more videos and social media posts like these from happening in the future.
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