The Texas House gave initial approval to school safety bills that aim to provide schools with more armed personnel, mental health training and money for campus security.
The state currently gives schools about $10 per student for safety needs. Under legislation the House moved forward, that would increase to about $100 per student plus additional funds per campus.
Teachers or other campus personnel could also earn an additional $25,000 annually if they became school guardians under one proposal.
These bills come nearly a year after the Uvalde school shooting, when a gunman took the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Many of the families of the victims have been to the Capitol to urge lawmakers to pass legislation, namely by reforming state gun laws, that would prevent similar shootings from happening in the future.
Under a sweeping House school safety bill, every public school campus in Texas would need at least one armed security officer present during regular hours under one of the proposals.
This bill, which passed 122-19, also would require on-site audits annually that must include a determination of whether an intruder could gain unauthorized access to a campus.
“We don’t get what we expect. We get what we inspect,” Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, the bill’s author, said during the debate. “Schools deserve the right tools to protect themselves and the best technology available.”
Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, expressed concern that the bill would bring more guns to school campuses, mentioning instances where school personnel have left guns unattended, which could lead to accidents and tragedies.
Goodwin proposed amendments that would require guns to have security locks, also known as trigger locks. These tools would make it so only the owner of the gun would be able to use it. Her amendments failed.
Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson, who opposes the bill, cited an American Federation of Teachers survey that found that 77% of Texas school employees do not want to be armed.
“Teachers themselves don’t want to be armed,” Ramos said.
She noted that many schools are already short-staffed, which could force teachers to be armed as opposed to officers. Ramos pointed to a passage of the bill that states any school district employee could be trained to be armed.
Ramos proposed an amendment that would eliminate the passage stating that any employee could be armed to limit it to school security officers and others who already have some kind of safety training. That amendment failed.
Burrows countered Ramos saying, “This is a false narrative that this bill arms teachers. It’s absolutely false”
However, another bill that advanced Monday would give teachers and other school personnel an incentive to carry a gun on campus through the state’s guardian provision.
Under the state’s loosely regulated “guardian plan,” school boards can authorize employees to carry guns on campus. School district officials are directly responsible for determining training plans and the vetting process for those guardians.
Such guardians would receive up to $25,000 per year as a stipend for taking the responsibility of providing “safety and security” under the bill by Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian.
During the debate, Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, asked whether there would be a limit on how many employees would be eligible for receiving the financial incentive.
King responded that wouldn’t be an issue, and it would be up to each district to make that decision.
Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, worried that the financial incentive would make school personnel interested in the program for monetary reasons. King responded that the “guardians” deserve to be paid for this work.
King’s bill also would require each district employee who regularly interacts with students to complete a mental health training to recognize when students need help with mental health or substance use that may pose a threat to school safety.
He said this training would support employees in recognizing when students are struggling. The bill would establish procedures for students to report concerning behavior as well.
School administrators have urged legislators to funnel more money to districts to make campuses safer through building upgrades, improved technology, expanded student support and other measures.
Dallas schools superintendent Stephanie Elizalde has said DISD needs about $200 per student to address safety needs.
The bills are expected to be voted on once more by the House before heading to the Senate. Two Senate bills regarding school safety also passed on Monday.
The House gave its initial approval to a Senate bill that requires all classrooms to provide silent panic alert technology, which allows any person in the classroom to immediately contact emergency services or law enforcement.
Meanwhile, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would allow retired police officers and veterans who were honorably discharged to sign up for the school marshal program, without having to get a license to carry. That heads to the House for consideration.
Last week, the Senate passed its version of school safety measures that addressed more training on responding to active shooter threats, increased state oversight to address campus security and addressing student discipline.
The two legislative chambers have about a month to work out differences in their proposals before the regular session ends on May 29.
Staff writer Allie Morris contributed to this report.
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