The bigger part of the Texas school districts are not in line with the armed security requirement – Kera News

Most of the 1,200 Texas school areas have not yet complied with the state legislation requiring armed security in every campus.

State deputies adopted Bill 3 at the house 3 in 2023 after the deadly shooting at Uvalde School. Among other things, he imposed updated plans for emergency preparation with at least once every three years, mental health training for school employees and the development of an emergency notification system for parents and guardians.

A January report from the Texas Senate Committee found that the vast majority of the districts were in line with aspects of HB3, but less than half – about 45% – complied with the requirement for armed security.

There are more than 8,000 campuses in the state. A little more than half – about 52% – requested and received a refusal, known as a good reason that allowed them to come up with an “alternative standard”, such as arming a school marshal or trained teacher.

To pay for armed security, the HB3 provided the $ 10 a student to the areas (increased from $ 9.72) and $ 15,000 per school.

But in a large area such as Dallas ISD, board staff told Kera in 2023 that qualified, armed security costs over $ 85,000 a year, not $ 15,000. And with 240 schools, this security bill rises.

Nearly 63% of large schools – those with 26 or more campuses – demanded good reasons.

In addition to financing problems, the report says that many areas have caused concerns with “Having training for certification of DPS safety certification for pistol instructors” as well as for mental health specialists.

“Many school districts are looking for a psychological assessment before allowing a person to be armed on the campus,” the report said. “Our committee has listened to testimony about the need to seek mental health specialists in other countries because of the lack of available workforce in Texas.”

The Committee recommended that the state increase the Pula of trainers for armed employees and marshals and the state “to continue to investigate the appropriate balance between mixed state-local partnerships for funding in an increased environment of increased threats in school conditions.”

Bill Zaibel is a reporter of Kera’s education. Do you have advice? The email account of [email protected]S You can follow it on x @bzebleS

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