HOUSTON — We have been pressing Houston ISD for answers after a Marshall Middle School student died last week following a “medical emergency” on campus. Now, his family’s attorney is talking about what their next steps are.
Landon Payton, 14, died on Wednesday and a cause of death has not been released yet. It's something Landon’s family attorney tells us he's waiting for.
On Monday, HISD Superintendent Mike Miles had a news conference regarding accountability rating and would not answer any questions regarding this incident.
"We're not going to talk about that right now. We're going to talk about accountability," Miles said.
Instead, Miles referred us back to a news release sent out over the weekend.
According to HISD, Landon collapsed in the gym Wednesday in front of a PE teacher and a special education teacher. The district also said the temperature was 72 degrees at the time he collapsed after questions about the heat and A/C at the school.
The district said that staff responded quickly and appropriately to Landon's collapsing, yet questions swirl about the eighth-grader's death.
Yet, there are questions regarding medical training and AED's on campuses.
Jackie Anderson, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said nurses have put in requests to fix non-working AED's and that the district needs to act.
“Where are your priorities? If you say you're here for children, then your actions are aligned with what you say,” she said.
Earlier on Monday, HISD held a virtual news conference without Miles to address AED's only. When asked about the number of working AEDs at Marshall Middle School, this was their response.
"Out of respect to his family and their privacy, and to preserve the integrity of the ongoing information gathering process, and because it is likely that there will be litigation, the district is not going to answer specific questions about the events at Marshall Middle School on August 14th," a spokesperson said.
Landon's father Alexis Payton now has an attorney. His attorney told KHOU 11 News a preservation of evidence letter was sent to HISD to hold and keep evidence safe to give them a chance to complete an investigation.
Meanwhile, HISD isn't answering any more questions about Landon’s death.
“We will answer all those questions at a different press conference,” Miles said.
Landon's family attorney told us once the cause of death report comes from the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office, he says they will consider the next steps.
Now, local lawmakers are weighing in.
"Transparency is key," State Sen. Carol Alvarado said.
Alvarado said she's been in contact with Landon's father, helping him get some of the pieces of information he's been missing from HISD.
"They are going back tomorrow to look at some of the remaining footage that was caught on camera," she said.
Alexis Payton has only seen part of that footage and said it's still unclear to him what happened moments before his son's tragic death.
"They are grieving. They just can't believe that this happened," Alvarado said.
State representative Christina Morales met with Landon's dad the day after his on died.
"Our children and their safety were not prioritized on day one of this school year," she said.
Morales sent a letter to HISD seeking clarification on what happened to Landon and how staff responded.
"If there's some sort of emergency, we need to make sure that we're well prepared. and, the community really just does not have any trust in HISD right now," Morales said.
Alvardo and Morales said the district admitting 170 AED machines weren't working was far from comforting.
"We need to make sure that all equipment is working properly," Morales said.
HISD orders have been placed to fix those defibrillators but still hasn't said whether one was even used as staff tried to save Landon's life.
"It's very concerning. I was alarmed to see that report. and we will be communicating with, the school district on how they let that get so far behind," Alvarado said.