TEA instructs districts on summer safety actions

After Gov. Greg Abbott charged the Texas School Safety Center and Texas Education Agency with directives to support the safety and security of public schools in June, the TEA released required school safety actions this summer for districts Thursday.

TEA and TxSSC are planning actions which will improve the safety of all Texas public schools, according to a release from the department Thursday, June 30. The department is issuing guidance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) which must be taken prior to the start of the new school year to make campuses secure.

One of the actions is to conduct a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and an Exterior Door Safety Audit. The safety audit is designed as a self-assessment of a school system’s safety and security, according to TxSSC. As a part of the audit, LEAs must inspect every exterior door of each instructional facility.

“The purpose of this inspection is to verify that every exterior door of instructional facilities closes and locks as intended to ensure appropriate levels of campus security. With this audit performed, LEAs can begin taking steps immediately to remedy any issues found,” TEA stated in the release Thursday. “To assist in conducting this audit, TEA is providing a template Exterior Door Safety Audit Tracker tool. This tool has been designed to establish a short checklist for each door, to verify it is functioning as intended for minimum security, or determine if it is in need of maintenance.”

The results of the audit will be reviewed by each school safety and security committee at an upcoming meeting and can be reviewed in an executive session.

LEAs will also be required to convene their safety and security committees to review the district’s multi-hazard Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The Texas Education Code states that districts must form a safety and security committee which must actively participate on behalf of the district in developing and implementing emergency plans for campuses and other facilities. The committee must also ensure each emergency plan is consistent with the district EOP.

“The safety and security committee should include community partners such as first responders, local emergency management staff, and others who have roles and responsibilities in school emergency management before, during, and after an incident. This includes local law enforcement officers, emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, school resource officers, fire officials, public and mental health practitioners, and local emergency managers. Their expertise will inform the development, implementation, and refinement of the school emergency operations plan,” TEA stated in a district safety recommendations document.

Districts will be required to ensure all campus staff, including substitute teachers, are trained on the specific LEA and campus procedures. All mandatory drills for the school year must be scheduled and all threat assessment team members must be trained.

The LEAs must review and take action, if required, on the access control procedures for campuses. For the upcoming 2022- 2023 school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps to make sure they are closed and locked at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted.

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