MI State Board Calls For Independent Review Of Oxford HS Shooting

OXFORD, MI — The Michigan Board of Education is calling on the state legislature to require and fund a comprehensive independent review of the 2021 Oxford High School shooting that left four students dead.

Board members passed the measure in a 7-1 vote Tuesday after parents of the four students who were killed requested the motion. The four students killed in the shooting were 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling. Seven others were wounded in the shooting.

The measure also calls for state lawmakers to make funding for children’s mental health and school safety part of every school's emergency operation plan, as well as suicide and threat assessments and training.

The vote comes after a board work session on May 21 when parents of the dead students voiced their thoughts and recommendations at the invitation of State Superintendent Michael F. Rice.

"Parents of Oxford students who died in this terrible tragedy have made it clear they want an independent state review of the shooting and events before and after," State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh said. "We owe it to the parents to do what we can to have the mass shooting thoroughly reviewed so that schools can learn from what happened and Oxford parents can get more answers."

An independent review by Guidepost Solutions last year found Oxford school officials failed to identify the shooter as a threat and failed to provide a safe environment for students. The review came after school officials rejected an independent investigation by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, drawing backlash from some in the community.

Ethan Crumbley, who was then 15 and a student at Oxford High School at the time of the shooting, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the deadly shooting. He is now appealing that sentence and wants to withdraw his guilty plea.

Ethan's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were each found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting after prosecutors said they ignored disturbing warning signs from their son leading up to the deadly shooting. They were each sentenced to 10-15 years in prison.