Legislation that aims to keep Texas schools safe moved forward after the state Senate unanimously voted to advance it on Wednesday.
The proposal comes nearly a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting in Uvalde — where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.
The broad bill would give the Texas Education Agency more oversight to address school safety needs and allow for state intervention if districts failed to submit safety plans.
It would also restore a shorter timeline for schools to refer students to truancy court and require districts and parents to share discipline records involving a student if they transfer to another district. Truancy and discipline became a focus of lawmakers after reports that the gunman in Uvalde had missed school often as a student.
It also would require more training in responding to an active shooter on a campus.
Meanwhile, it would set a funding floor of $15,000 for school safety per campus per year.
Lawmakers spent months reviewing what happened at Robb Elementary and how to make schools safer, releasing a nearly 100-page report in December.
Texas schools currently receive just under $10 per-student to invest in campus safety. But district leaders say the money doesn’t stretch far enough to completely cover their needs.
Dallas ISD leaders have previously urged lawmakers to bump the amount up to at least $200.
The Senate’s bill does not include additional money that school administrators say is needed to improve campus security.
Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, unsuccessfully attempted to include an amendment that would require schools adopt and implement preventative measures, such as trauma-informed family engagement practices.
The bill heads to the House for consideration.
On Monday, the House is set to debate on four school safety measures in that chamber.
They include bills that would require at least one armed officer per campus; boost the school safety allotment to $100 per student; place silent panic buttons in classrooms; and create a state school safety fund for projects that bolster security across campuses.
The regular legislative session ends May 29, by which lawmakers must pass bills before sending them to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature or veto.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
