Following a wave of violence and disorder at high school football games, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) announced new restrictions and tighter security measures, including requiring students to have a chaperone and separate student sections for each school.
Two people were stabbed at a Sept. 6 game between Archbishop Carroll High School, a Washington, D.C. private Catholic school, and Friendship Collegiate Academy, a D.C. charter school whose athletic programs are regulated by the city. One person was arrested at the scene, and a spokesperson for Archbishop Carroll announced on Facebook that no one involved with the incident was a student at either school. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) did not release the identity of the assailant or victims because of their age.
Drewana Bey, a DCPS deputy chancellor, announced in a Sept. 12 email to parents the enactment of eight new measures at football games due to what she called “multiple instances of spectator conflict.”
Among the changes, students will now need to be supervised by an adult to enter the stadium. Seating will be divided between home and away fans to keep students from opposing schools further away from each other. The start times of games, usually Friday nights between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., have been moved to between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Bey said the changes will last at least through Oct. 10.
“These adjustments are being introduced to help reduce and prevent conflicts, and we will be monitoring their effectiveness closely,” Bey wrote in the email. “Our hope is that these changes will be temporary, and we commit to reevaluating later in the season with the goal of maintaining safety and our football traditions.”
A spokesperson for DCPS declined to comment further.
A spokesperson for District of Columbia State Athletics Association (DCSAA) — which runs postseason competitions between Washington, D.C.’s schools — said the policy was DCPS’s decision alone but that the association was ready to support safety at games.
“DCSAA has discussed the importance of safety and security with all member schools. This is not a new issue nor is it just a D.C. issue,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “We are committed to helping member schools ensure the safety of all players, spectators and coaches attending games.”
This wave of violence has not been confined within the borders of the District either. Other D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area school districts have also instituted tighter security after disorder at their games.
After a fight, Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George’s County, Md., announced it would move Friday night games to Saturdays in an effort to calm crowds. Prince George’s County Public Schools reversed that decision, though, and instead added additional security to all games.
Multiple fights broke out at a Sept. 19 game in Montgomery County, Md., between James A. Blake High School and Springbrook High School, involving students of those two schools and Paint Branch High School, according to an open letter from the principals of the three schools.
The principals said a police officer fired a riot control device to disperse the crowd and condemned the violence as inconsistent with their values.
“Fighting, causing injury, and creating unsafe conditions for others will never be tolerated. These actions put students, staff, and families at risk and undermine the safe, supportive environment we strive to maintain at all school events,” the principals wrote. “Disciplinary actions will be taken against any individuals determined to have participated in or instigated these events.”
Montgomery County has an athletics safety plan — which has been in place since 2023 and requires chaperones for all students that do not attend the schools participating in the game at all times. The principals said this restriction was not enforced at the Sept. 19 game, but the county will check student IDs at stadiums going forward. A spokesperson for the school district told NBC Washington the county may go to Tier 2 of its plan, which would restrict student attendance to students of the host school only.
District and area officials plan to review their enhanced measures in October, but expect them to remain in place for now.
