Tanisha Hudson tells school board 911 calls were canceled during April 15 medical emergency; urges suspension removal

Tanisha Hudson told the Charlottesville City School Board on May 7 that a medical emergency at Charlottesville High School on April 15 exposed holes in the district’s emergency preparedness and investigation processes. "EMS should have came to the school when a child told an adult that they could not breathe," Hudson said during the public‑comment period, and she alleged two 911 calls were cancelled while the student was in distress.

Hudson spoke as a community member and said the district’s response included a lengthy internal investigation and what she described as conflicting communications among administrators and facilities staff. She asked the board to remove a suspension from the student’s record, saying the student was not "caught" and that discipline in this case would be inappropriate given the response failures she described.

Hudson also raised concerns about vaping in schools. She said staff did not initially know whether a vape involved was a legal product or an illicit device and urged the district to install vape detectors and to ensure staff are trained to recognize and respond to acute medical issues tied to vaping. "You need to make sure that anything pertaining to emergency medical health ... is somewhere locked in to your normal training," she said.

Board members acknowledged the comment and noted the opportunity for an additional public‑comment period and for the district to respond through staff updates. Superintendent Dr. Rosemond Gurley (Dr. Gurley) emphasized his expectation that staff continue to focus on student safety and supports; he did not announce a specific personnel or disciplinary action during the meeting.

What happens next: Hudson’s remarks were recorded during public comment and the board and staff signaled they will continue to address safety training and policy in upcoming work sessions and reports. The district’s student discipline status for the individual named by the commenter was not changed on the record at this meeting and the board did not vote on the matter.