TEA instructs districts on school safety actions

After Gov. Greg Abbott charged the Texas School Safety Center and Texas Education Agency with directives to support the safety and security of public schools in June, the TEA released required school safety actions this summer for districts Thursday.

TEA and TxSSC are planning actions which will improve the safety of all Texas public schools, according to a release from the department Thursday, June 30. The department is issuing guidance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) which must be taken prior to the start of the new school year to make campuses secure.

One of the actions is to conduct a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and an Exterior Door Safety Audit. The safety audit is designed as a self-assessment of a school system’s safety and security, according to TxSSC. As a part of the audit, LEAs must inspect every exterior door of each instructional facility.

“The purpose of this inspection is to verify that every exterior door of instructional facilities closes and locks as intended to ensure appropriate levels of campus security. With this audit performed, LEAs can begin taking steps immediately to remedy any issues found,” TEA stated in the release Thursday. “To assist in conducting this audit, TEA is providing a template Exterior Door Safety Audit Tracker tool. This tool has been designed to establish a short checklist for each door, to verify it is functioning as intended for minimum security, or determine if it is in need of maintenance.”

The results of the audit will be reviewed by each school safety and security committee at an upcoming meeting and can be reviewed in an executive session.

LEAs will also be required to convene their safety and security committees to review the district’s multi-hazard Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The Texas Education Code states that districts must form a safety and security committee which must actively participate on behalf of the district in development and implementing emergency plans for campus and other facilities. The committee must also ensure each emergency plan is consistent with the district EOP.

“The safety and security committee should include community partners such as first responders, local emergency management staff, and others who have roles and responsibilities in school emergency management before, during, and after an incident. This includes local law enforcement officers, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, school resource officers, fire officials, public and mental health practitioners, and local emergency managers. Their expertise will inform the development, implementation, and refinement of the school emergency operations plan,” TEA stated in a district safety recommendations document.

Districts will be required to ensure all campus staff, including substitute teachers, are trained on the specific LEA and campus procedures. All mandatory drills for the school year must be scheduled and all threat assessment team members must be trained.

The LEAs must review and take action, if required, on the access control procedures for campuses. For the upcoming 2022-2023 school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps to make sure they are closed and locked at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted.

LEAs will be required under the Texas Education Code to respond to a survey issued by TxSSC to certify they have completed the items required by Sept. 1. Along with those requirements, the TEA stated they will be issuing a rule requiring all LEAs in the state to ensure all instructional facilities meet certain facilities standards and following procedures on an ongoing basis.

TEA is looking to provide support to assist LEAs in meeting the requirements. TEA will open data collection allowing LEAs to submit information on facility components not in compliance with the to-be-announced and proposed facility standards, along with the estimated costs to become compliant. The information will then be compiled and submitted to the legislature for requesting funds for LEAs.

“Additional funds have just been approved by Governor Abbott and legislative leadership for silent panic alert systems for schools,” TEA stated Thursday. “We are currently working on the details of this grant and will provide more information as soon as it is available.”

Funding is available for immediately needed facility improvements under the Senate Bill 500 school safety grants. TEA announced Thursday the extension of the end date for the 2019-2021 School Safety and Security Grant Notice of Grant Award (NOGA) to June 15, 2023.

The bill appropriated $100 million to the Texas Education Agency to provide funding to public schools for exterior doors with push bars, metal detectors at school entrances, erected vehicle barriers and security systems that monitor and record school entrances, exits, and hallways. The bill also provides funding for campus-wide active shooter alarm systems that are separate from fire alarms, two-way radio systems, perimeter security fencing, bullet-resistant glass or film for school entrances and door-locking systems.

“Beyond these actions focused on preparing for the beginning of the new school year, under Governor Abbott’s leadership, TEA, TxSSC, and other state agency partners are working on additional actions to provide more support to improve school safety. This includes efforts to expand technical assistance for emergency operations plan development, conducting threat assessment protocols, expanding availability of school-based law enforcement, improving the efficacy of drills and incident preparedness exercises, and supporting LEA efforts in implementing multi-tiered system of supports,” TEA stated Thursday.