HEWITT, Texas — Starting Sep. 1, schools across Texas will be implementing new requirements to increase school safety.
House Bill 3 will require safety protocol audits, mental health training for teachers, and increased security.
Midway ISD is turning towards the guardian program.
The district already has six school resource officers, but now they’re looking for six staff members to help protect students.
“The individuals that we’re going to be placing on these campuses are going to be highly trained,” said superintendent, Chris Allen.
House Bill 3 requires an armed security guard on every campus, but Allen says the bill is underfunded.
“The state provided roughly $180,000 to solve this problem," Allen said.
"Between the egregious lack of funding and the fact that every one of our local law enforcement agencies is not fully staffed, therefore we would struggle to meet that need."
To meet that standard the districts will be training their staff members to be armed and to protect students.
Safety and security expert, Guy Beveridge, says those guardians will need to undergo intense training.
“Teachers who are going to be armed need to have a different level of training, a different level of understanding of what their capabilities and abilities are going to be, and they are going to have to be put under some stress in that training,” Beveridge said.
Superintendent Allen says their guardians will have a minimum of 20 training hours annually. Their identity will also be kept confidential, and the school is also ensuring safety with their keyless entry, bullet resistant glass at secure entry vestibules.
Beveridge believes those safety features and armed personnel on campus can help put an end to tragedies in schools.
“They study and realize that they’re coming against a more hardened Target, especially an armed component there on campus," Beveridge said.
"I think that does tend to make and help them make a little bit different decision.”
The school is currently vetting staff members to meet that September first requirement.
