Texas bill for armed school security immunity gets approval in Senate committee
AUSTIN, Texas May 22 2021 A bill which would provide immunity from liability for school security personnel in case of a safety issue authored by an East Texas state representative has received approval in the committee phase of the Texas Senate.
Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant) authored HB 1788.
It concerns immunity from liability of public and private schools and security personnel employed by those schools for certain actions of security personnel.
It gives immunity to any school in Texas, as well as the security personnel in the school districts, from damages that occur when “reasonable action is taken by the security personnel to maintain the safety of the school campus, including action relating to possession or use of a firearm.”
This immunity would protect security personnel in the schools, whether paid or volunteer.
The employee must have written permission from the board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter school or the private school to carry a firearm on campus, however, before immunity could be in force.
The Senate Committee on Education passed the bill on a 7-4 vote. The bill will now be considered for debate on the Senate floor.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola).
KLTV
