This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

TANGIPAHOA PARISH – School Superintendent Melissa Stilley provided an update on the situations at three high schools.

In the last 24 hours, the total number of students removed from Tangipahoa Parish public high schools for fighting climbed to 48.

Stilley reported that 26 Independence High students were removed from campus for fighting on Tuesday, and six more were removed Wednesday morning, after another fight broke out.

Then, nine Ponchatoula High School students and seven Loranger High students were removed from their school campus, after small fights broke out at those schools Wednesday afternoon.

Stilley said the fight at PHS happened around lunchtime, while the fight at LHS happened at dismissal as students were boarding buses.

“Our team is following the procedures outlined in our school safety plan, and the students involved will face disciplinary action that could include placement at the Tangipahoa Alternative School or expulsion,” Stilley said.

Stilley stated, “We must to take a strong stance against students who choose to disrupt the learning environment and cause potential risk to the students and employees at the school. We will take every action possible to secure our campuses from these types of threats.”

In all these cases, law enforcement responded to the schools. Stilley offered thanks to local police officers and sheriff’s deputies who partner with the schools to keep campuses safe for everyone on site.

“Our investigation into these two cases is ongoing, but we think that social media is feeding into this,” Stilley said. “I am asking our parents and family members to sit down with their students tonight and talk about the consequences of these kind of actions on our school campuses.”