Substitute Teacher Accused of Triggering False Active Shooter Alerts at 5 Schools

A Louisiana substitute teacher is accused of using a school district's emergency management system to trigger false active shooter alerts at five schools, prompting security responses across the district.

Lytonja Barfield, 58, was arrested Aug. 19 and booked on five counts of menacing following an investigation by the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, Fox reports.

According to the sheriff's office, Caddo Parish School Board Director of Security Don Gibbs contacted investigators after emergency alerts were received at several schools. Gibbs told investigators Barfield allegedly used the district's emergency management system to report active shooters at five schools.

School officials responded by implementing security measures to protect students and staff while determining whether the reported threats were legitimate. The alerts were ultimately determined to be false, according to authorities.

Investigators identified Barfield as the person allegedly responsible for sending the alerts. A sheriff's office detective later located and questioned her before she was arrested and transported to the Caddo Correctional Center. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive or identified the five schools involved.

Caddo Parish Public Schools said Barfield is no longer employed by the district. The district also said she was not assigned to work at any district location at the time of the incident.

The district has not publicly detailed how Barfield was able to access the emergency management system or whether changes have been made following the incident.

What NCSSD Members Are Doing

The incident prompted a discussion within the National Council of School Safety Directors (NCSSD) community about safeguards for staff-initiated emergency alert systems. Members shared several ways their districts manage access, including how they handle substitutes and temporary employees.

Managing User Access

One NCSSD member said their district limits the ability to push emergency alerts to school and district administrators. Access is tied to individual administrator credentials and removed when the employee leaves the district.

The district can also identify who initiated an alert and where it originated.

"Our alerts are time stamped with who pushed the alert, and what building location it was from," the member said.

Another member similarly pointed to controlled user access as an important safeguard. Only authorized personnel are enrolled in that district's emergency alert system, and access can be removed when an employee separates from the district or no longer needs it.

Substitute Access

Districts are taking different approaches to giving substitute teachers emergency alert capabilities. One member whose district uses Raptor's mobile application said all contracted staff can initiate an emergency through the system. Substitutes, however, are linked to the district's School Support Center rather than individual schools.

"They cannot set off a false emergency at the school they are working at," the member said. Substitutes instead sign in as visitors each day and receive training on how to respond to drills and emergencies while working in district schools.

Another NCSSD member, who works in a Texas school district, said substitutes receive temporary access to the district's CENTEGIX CrisisAlert system. Full-time employees have individually assigned badges, while substitutes receive a numbered "sub badge" when they check in at the school office each morning and return it when they leave.

The front office documents which substitute receives each numbered badge, allowing the district to identify who initiated an alert. When a full-time employee leaves the district, their badge is immediately removed from the system.

Location-Based Restrictions

Location can provide another layer of control. One member said their district uses a geofenced emergency alert system. Staff can initiate an emergency only while physically within an established campus boundary. Once they leave the geofence, the emergency activation function no longer works.

That type of safeguard is particularly relevant to questions raised by the Louisiana case, where the district said Barfield was not assigned to work at any district site when the alerts were sent. It is not clear, however, where Barfield was physically located when she allegedly activated the alerts or whether a location-based restriction would have prevented the incident.

The member said their district combines geofencing with controlled access, training, and routine system audits and testing.

"The Louisiana incident is a good reminder that emergency notification systems should not only be evaluated on how quickly they can activate an alert, but also on what safeguards exist to prevent an alert from being activated when and where it shouldn't be," the member said.

Handling Accidental Activations

Members also cautioned against making emergency systems so restrictive that employees hesitate to use them.

One district reported having a small number of false emergencies through its Raptor system but addresses accidental activations through continued training on the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and use of the app.

"We approach each accidental trigger of an emergency as a training opportunity," the member said. "We want no employee to feel like they cannot use Raptor."

Another member encountered the opposite problem after introducing an emergency alert program last year.

"I had the opposite issue, and that was getting our admin to actually use it!" the member said.

After giving administrators time to become familiar with the system last year, its use is now mandatory.

The Texas member also shared a simple way the district has reduced accidental activations. Staff wear their ID badge on top of their CENTEGIX badge so it covers the alert button, making it less likely the button will be pressed accidentally. When the alert button is left exposed, accidental activations are more likely, although the member said they are still uncommon.

The practices vary by district, but they share a common goal of reducing unauthorized and accidental activations without making it harder for staff to summon help during a real emergency.