Boerne ISD leads effort to keep children safe from social media threats, predators

Critics argue that smartphones and social media shift, if not destroy, the childhood experience.

Nobody knows that possibility better than Boerne ISD’s Rick Goodrich, a former DEA supervisory special agent, hired in 2022 to fill the role of Chief of Safety and Security for the district.

Goodrich has already educated the leadership of BISD about the threats that lie over the horizon and those that exist internally on campus. He led an April 3 parents-only “Keeping Our Children Safe Online” meeting, discussing and interacting with parents about methods to protect student privacy and maintain student safety.

Among topics discussed with parents was the idea of, “Phones don’t introduce kids to the world, phones introduce the world to them” in the form of predators and criminal element.

In the 2024-2025 school year, 48 juveniles (students) have been referred for prosecution to the Kendall County District Attorney for charges related to the disclosure of intimate material or compromising photos, a.k.a. “selfies,” shared and then maliciously distributed; terroristic threats made against other students; and drug-related crimes.

But when these crimes are perpetrated by people from outside the school district, even possibly by organized criminal organizations overseas, Goodrich said their methods involve establishing trust or a bond with the victim — usually a child between 8 and 17 years of age, possibly facing social or mental health struggles, depression, suicidal ideations, eating disorders or identity issues.

This can lead to coercion — convincing the student to share intimate photos, leading to “sextortion,” a form of blackmail.

The victim, in this case the student, is threatened with the release of sexually explicit images, videos, or information unless they comply with the perpetrator’s demands for money, additional explicit content or sexual favors.

Goodrich and his team are working to educate parents on how children are targeted for exploitation by criminals who use social media.

This effort will be followed by combined parent-student training sessions in the coming weeks.

Links to Boerne ISD resources include: https:// www. boerneisd. net/ departments/ technology- services/digital-learning/ digital-citizenship https:// www. boerneisd. net/ departments/ technology- services/ cybersecurity/ internet-safety