New school safety laws seek to add armed guards, chaplains and mental health training
Austin TX July 14, 2023 Almost a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting, state lawmakers ordered school districts to secure schools with armed officers and to train more staff to identify students who may need mental health support under legislation set to become law in September.
The new school safety law will grant the Texas Education Agency more authority to make sure schools have robust safety plans to respond to an active shooter — something about half of all Texas school districts lacked, according to a 2020 assessment report. Meanwhile, another law will allow schools to use school safety funds to employ unlicensed chaplains for mental health roles, a move some critics have said could allow religious activists to recruit in schools and further polarize school communities.
The renewed emphasis on school safety came in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last year. But despite the new measures, state lawmakers didn’t listen to Uvalde parents’ calls to pass legislation that would’ve raised the minimum age to buy an AR-style rifle from 18 to 21.
All in all, experts say many of the changes will bolster school safety but some requirements, such as for armed officers, may be challenging for public schools to implement by the upcoming school year with limited funding and staffing constraints. The legislation does not punish schools for not having an armed guard at every school.
