DENVER (KDVR) — A national nonprofit is advocating on behalf of students and faculty at Denver East High School in the aftermath of last week’s shooting.
The Uvalde Foundation For Kids, formed in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is aimed at ending school violence.
The organization started an independent investigation into East High School following the shooting death of 16-year-old Luis Garcia. As of Monday morning, the organization had interviewed more than 100 people including students, parents and faculty.
“We want to make sure the Band-Aids aren’t replaced with more Band-Aids, and accountability for those that failed to act is held,” said Daniel Chapin, Uvalde Foundation for Kids founder.
The organization reached out to Denver Public Schools to collaborate, however, the district declined. They then continued to interview concerned students and families within the district.
Last Wednesday, they sent an email to a parent advocacy group offering help for ongoing safety concerns. Later that morning, two deans were shot inside the school.
“Literally an hour after submitting that concern we had the two deans who were shot. That could’ve been prevented,” Chapin said.
The organization plans to take its findings to the state level by the end of this week. They will submit their findings to the state board of education, Colorado Commissioner of Education and Colorado Department of Public Safety.
“We know they’re aware of the circumstances. We need them to now engage their ability and their authority to hold the persons accountable that need to be and to make sure these changes we’re talking about are sustainable,” Chapin said.
FOX31 reached out to the Colorado State Board of Education and received the following response:
“The state board of education doesn’t have authority over school safety policies. The local board has control over most issues while implementation of state-level policies on school safety is overseen by the Colorado School Safety Resource Center which is part of the Colorado Department of Public Safety.”
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids said the information does not change their focus. The organization will still present its findings to the state board of education for the official record.
It will also present its findings to state legislators and the Colorado Department of Public Safety.