Not all Dallas elementary schools will have an armed officer by the time classes begin next week, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said Thursday, but the district is working to hire more security.
Elizalde’s announcement comes shortly before a new state law kicks in on Sept. 1 that requires armed personnel on every public campus.
Elizalde will ask the school board to approve an alternate plan when the trustees meet later this month. The proposal involves increasing patrols around elementary schools, upping recruitment efforts for Dallas ISD’s own police force and hiring commissioned security officers. These people would be empowered to respond to emergencies but would not have arrest powers.
It’s just not possible to onboard enough licensed peace officers to fill every campus vacancy, Elizalde said. Other nearby school districts are also rushing to hire staff to comply with the new state law and several municipal police forces, including the city of Dallas, are already short-staffed.
“Truly the biggest issue is the availability of workforce,” she said. “Me posting 167 more positions doesn’t resolve the issue.”
The new law was Texas lawmakers’ response to the Uvalde school massacre in which 19 students and two teachers were killed.
School officials can request exemptions to get around the armed officer requirement if they can show a lack of funding or workforce shortages.
Elizalde described the new law as an “unfunded mandate.” Despite instituting expensive new safety requirements for schools, the Legislature allocated just $10 per student for security measures. That’s an increase of 28 cents over last year.
Lawmakers set aside an additional $15,000 per campus — far less than the cost of paying a security officer.
DISD operates its own police force, and Dallas secondary schools have long had officers stationed on campus. But the new law means officials must figure out what to do about the district’s many elementary schools.
The district can’t realistically partner with the Dallas Police Department to provide enough school resource officers for those campuses, Elizalde said.
School leaders can satisfy the state requirement by allowing certain staff members, including teachers, to carry guns on campus under Texas’ guardian plan or marshal program.
Elizalde is clear: Neither is an option in Dallas ISD.
“There are so many things that can go wrong with a marshal or guardian plan,” she said.
In the meantime, DISD’s police force will deploy officers who are in supervisory positions to patrol areas around elementary schools. Many are clustered around each other.
“The goal … is to ensure every elementary school would have response time, from our police department, within five minutes, if not less, until we work to ensure every single campus has the armed security officer,” Elizalde said.
Hiring a security officer who is allowed to carry a gun but who is not a peace officer is generally cheaper than adding members to the district police force. They would also have less power on campuses.
Other district plans
Districts’ strategies for fulfilling the new law’s requirements vary.
This week, Plano ISD trustees voted to implement a school marshal program. The district’s proposed program does not involve teachers or other employees performing a dual role. School marshals would be hired for the sole purpose of security.
Marshals must maintain a license to carry, pass a psychological exam and complete 80 hours of initial training. Plano leaders said they would require additional, ongoing training.
“Keeping our students safe is always our top priority in Plano ISD, and we want to assure our community that we will implement these new requirements with fidelity,” Superintendent Theresa Williams said in a statement.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, meanwhile, recently announced a partnership with both the Grapevine and Colleyville police departments to place school resource officers on every campus.
While school resource officers have previously staffed all secondary campuses, they will be expanding to 11 elementary schools.
“We’re proud that our local men and women in blue will be the ones fulfilling this safety role,” Superintendent Brad Schnautz said in a statement.
Allen ISD took a different approach. Trustees voted this summer to contract with a private security company to staff 17 campuses that don’t have an assigned school resource officer.
Other districts are in the process of figuring out how they’ll comply.
Texas has 318 registered school marshals across 77 districts, according to Gretchen Grigsby, director of government relations for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. She said there’s been an uptick in interest since the new legislation passed.
Under the state’s more loosely-regulated guardian plan, trustees can authorize employees to carry guns on campus, with some guardrails. The Texas School Safety Center’s last audit through 2020 found at least 280 districts reported using the guardian program.
Parents won’t always know who is armed on a campus. School marshals and guardians can remain anonymous under state law.
Guns on campus
Politicians, parents and school leaders are divided on having more armed personnel on campus.
Proponents argue officers can deter school violence and that, in the event of an active shooter, an armed person on campus can immediately jump into action to protect students. But opponents worry that bringing guns on campus could make children less safe. They’re concerned about accidental discharges or students getting their hands on the weapon.
A Granbury teacher — who was a school marshal — left a gun unattended in a faculty restroom in March. Months earlier, a third grade student found a Texas superintendent’s gun in a bathroom stall.
More than 370 officers responded to Robb Elementary on the day a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. They waited more than an hour to confront the shooter.
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