House Bill 3 by state Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, mandates that each campus must have at least one armed security officer. The law appears to have been passed in response to last year’s Uvalde massacre, during which 19 Robb Elementary School students and two teachers were fatally shot.
Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said during a press conference last week that the district still has work to do before the law takes effect next month.
“We are not going to have 167 additional officers available at every single one of our schools on Sept. 1,” she said. “The feasibility of that is not possible.”
Some of Texas’ largest districts will be hardest hit by HB 3, Rena Honea, president of Dallas’ Alliance/AFT teachers union, told the Observer. Coming up with the funds to meet the mandate will be tough for many, she said; the state is contributing only “a minimal amount of money” to help.
“Money is an issue, and having the available workers willing to do the work is another issue that they've come [up] against,” she said. “And I think you'll find that in a lot of the districts around the state, even the rural districts.”
But, Honea said, teachers are focused on offering a high-quality education to their students.
“We’re all in this for the kids,” she said. “How we get there usually is the point of contention, but finding ways that we can make it the best experience possible for every student that walks in our doors is the goal of every educator.”
Dallas ISD
Dallas ISD, Texas’ second-largest district, opened its doors to some 140,000 students on Monday. As a result of HB 3, the district’s school board will be asked to green-light an alternate plan, Elizalde said in a news release last week.
“We will begin by deploying many of our officers who are in supervisory roles, which means they’re going to take on some additional responsibilities,” she said.
The district will work to recruit police officers during the first year of implementation. It will also seek Level III security officers — armed security personnel who have finished required training and passed a background check and psychological evaluation.
Dallas ISD’s secondary schools already have officers, but now the district will need to provide for its elementary campuses.
The district is also introducing new tech this year that lets parents easily track their kids’ school buses. Guardians can keep tabs on the location of the bus on its route and whether it has encountered traffic or another kind of delay.
Another safety-focused rule: All Dallas ISD students must carry a clear backpack this school year, although mesh bags are allowed.
“We’re all in this for the kids.” – Rena Honea, president, Dallas Alliance/AFT teachers union.
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Mesquite ISD
Mesquite ISD has also adopted a clear backpack policy. Proponents argue that the measure will discourage students from carrying firearms onto campus, although it’s had plenty of critics.Officials in Mesquite recently credited the clear backpack requirement with helping to uncover a gun brought by a student.
On Mesquite ISD’s first day of school last week, a 17-year-old high school student was argumentative about putting away his non-clear backpack, according to The Dallas Morning News. A police dog ultimately sniffed the bag and determined that it contained an odor consistent with ammunition or firearms. The student was then arrested.
Plano ISD
Trustees in Plano ISD recently approved a plan for a district school marshal program. The program will equip elementary campuses with armed officers in addition to “other education centers that don’t already have a school resource officer,” according to KERA.Plano ISD will fork over nearly $3 million of its own money to help bring in 55 new employees and will reportedly receive around $1 million toward that effort from the state.
“I hope the other parents out there go to their state legislators and request that programs like this get fully funded by the state because this is going to be done at a huge cost to our district so that we can do it the right way,” board member Tarrah Lantz said, according to KERA.
Allen ISD
To comply with HB 3, Allen ISD announced that it will provide campuses with at least one armed guard by hiring a security company. L&P Global Security in Dallas will aid in supplying trained officers for 17 Allen ISD elementary campuses.Allen ISD’s secondary campuses were already covered by school resource officers, according to FOX 4.
The announcement comes just months after the mass shooting at an Allen outlet mall. District officials reportedly wanted to ease parents’ fears ahead of the school year given the proximity of the massacre.
