America just witnessed another mass shooting, 17 students are dead and everybody is now playing Sherlock Holmes to determine why this happened. Did he creep people out? Yes. Did he pose with guns? Yes. Did he say anything that we should have taken note of? Yes. Would any one of us taken these as signs that a shooting was going to happen and report it to the school system? Probably not. Would it have prevented this? Sadly, probably not.

But, what if I told you an Alabama school system had a plan in place, in the past, that actually monitored the public social media profiles of their students and it led to 14 expulsions:

“What I think the board is doing is trying to provide a safe environment for all children,” Huntsville City School Board Member Laurie McCaulley told al.com.

Why this matters: 14 expulsions means the schools are safer, but parents freaked out and demanded the program be cancelled, the ACLU got involved, and al.com condemned the program. The program was ended even though it was a pretty proactive move. Huntsville City School Board Member Elisa Ferrell pointed out the program found problems and even prevented an attack on a teacher. Is it time to bring this program back and expand it statewide?

The details:

— HCS paid a former FBI agent 157,000 to monitor the public profiles of students, mostly by responding to tips sent in by students for 18 months.

— Of the 14 students expelled because of the program, 12 were black, which drew the ire of black leaders.

— Huntsville’s Superintendent at the time claimed the NSA was involved in this program, which was a dubious claim, and turned people against it more.

— Other options are being suggested as well, including State Representative Will Ainsworth’s suggestion that we train and arm teachers.

Dale Jackson hosts a daily radio show from 7-11 a.m. on NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN and a weekly television show, “Guerrilla Politics,” on WAAY-TV, both in North Alabama. Follow him @TheDaleJackson.