Gov. Abbott directs immediate school safety review including random security checks

June 2, 2022

Abbott desires the group to make sure that school’s particular person safety and security committees meet forward of the brand new year and give you plans for every campus.

AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Abbott is requesting a whole safety review of Texas public colleges, including random, unannounced security checks, within the wake of the Uvalde school taking pictures.

School security has been within the highlight after a gunman was capable of get right into a facet door of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24 and killed 19 college students and two lecturers.

Governor Greg Abbott despatched a letter on Wednesday to Dr. Kathy Martinez-Prather directing the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) to start instantly conducting complete school safety evaluations of all Texas public colleges.

Abbott desires the group to make sure that school’s particular person safety and security committees meet forward of the brand new year and give you plans for every campus’s wants. He additionally desires them to coach and review procedures with every campus and conduct unannounced random evaluations of school security and campus entry.

“The work and trainings provided by the Texas School Safety Center has reached thousands of schools and instructors and has benefited millions of Texas school children,” reads the letter. “However, the tragedy at Robb Elementary School last week requires us all to do more. I am charging the TxSSC, in coordination with the TEA, to develop and implement a plan to conduct random inspections to assess access control measures of Texas school districts. Among other reviews, your team should begin conducting in-person, unannounced, random intruder detection audits on school districts. Also, the TxSSC should immediately begin working with my office and the Legislature on recommendations to improve current security systems and determine the funding necessary to continue the work of hardening our schools against outside threats. Texans have never shirked away from a challenge, and I know with the support of state leadership, we can continue the work of improving each student’s experience in our schools.”

Abbott desires the TxSSC to present a progress report of findings to the Governor’s office and the Legislature by October 1.

On Thursday, Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to work on methods to make colleges safer.

“You should immediately prepare additional rules to ensure that existing school facilities are also held to heightened safety standards. We must do everything possible to protect children and safeguard our schools,” he wrote in a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath

In a press launch, Abbott mentioned he requested TEA to:

Instruct school districts to establish actions they will take previous to the beginning of the brand new school year that may make their campuses safer.
Instruct all school districts to conduct weekly inspections of exterior doorways to confirm they’re safe throughout school hours.
Develop methods to encourage school districts to extend the presence of skilled legislation enforcement officers and school marshals on campuses.

This comes after Greg Abbott requested state leaders to type a particular legislative committee. In a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, Abbott outlined matters the committee ought to think about.