Many Texas Districts Struggle to Comply with New School Safety Law

by Jennifer Williams

As Texas students return to class, they may notice one big change on campus.

With this year’s passage of Texas House Bill 3, an armed officer will be required on every school campus in the state. But school officials are scrambling to fill these positions and say they may not have the personnel in place when the law goes into effect September 1.

The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May, also requires districts to put school safety measures like emergency preparedness plans and mental health training in place.

At least $15,000 per campus is allocated to help districts meet these requirements, and the law allows officials to implement alternative plans to comply if they still lack funding or cannot find qualified personnel to hire.

Districts across the state are scrambling to find and hire qualified personnel, including retired and former police officers, and say the shortage of available officers remains their biggest hurdle, other than funding.

Some districts have partnered with private companies to provide security officers at their schools but say doing so is taking a lot more funding than is provided.

According to the Texas Association of School Boards, it would cost $80,000 to place a resource officer on one campus.

"Historically, we've been underfunded in public education across the board, so it's not surprising to see another mandate and resources not matching that," said Dallas ISD Board of Trustees President Justin Henry.