On June 30, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency released a list of required safety steps for all schools before the start of the fall semester. These steps include each Local Education Agency (LEA) conducting a summer targeted partial safety audit and an exterior door safety audit.
Dublin and Lingleville ISD have been reflecting on their safety protocols and new TEA guidance and shared their thoughts.
“We’re really not in a terrible place,” said Dublin ISD Superintendent Melissa Summers after reviewing the audits, saying that the district is already doing almost everything on the list. “Now, we just have to document the things we do.”
One item stresses staff having to push a button to allow entry to the school. Summers reported this is already in effect for two campuses and is being installed for the third (which still had interior security doors).
Like all other school districts, Lingleville and Dublin will be checking their exterior doors and make sure they lock so the campuses can be sufficiently secure when the first bell rings.
Summers said they will call upon students to make sure doors stay secure, feeling that they will understand the seriousness of keeping the building secure after incidents like the Uvalde shooting.
Summers also reported that the guardian program is continuing with several new staff member undergoing training to carry concealed weapons in case of an onsite threat. DISD will also have three school resource officers in the coming year, all of which train with the guardians to build bonds, trust and plans.
DISD will also be working with city police and other local law enforcement to walk through facility to increase safety protocols and make sure the officers are familiar with the schools.
Lingleville ISD released a statement on July 6, offering the following information:
“Our safety and security focus on three things: Effective planning, physical security, and coordination with local emergency responders for potential emergency situations. This includes training our staff and students and conducting drills to practice our plans and strengthen our security technology and infrastructure. These practices are conducted routinely to keep students and staff aware of what their roles and responsibilities are.
“Our Guardian members (armed teachers) train throughout the year as a school and with law enforcement / first responders to build and maintain close relationships and strong lines of communication.
Lingleville ISD has an Emergency Operations Plan reviewed and approved annually by the school board officials. In general, each plan involves the designation of a crisis management team; development of evacuation, shelter in-place, and lockdown procedures; maintenance of a portable critical response kit that contains key information and supplies; designation of one or more evacuation sites; provisions for updating the plan; and resources for external assistance before, during, and after an event.
Entry into our school is restricted by using access control and screening. Parents and other visitors coming into the school must check in at the main office and submit identification for the Raptor Visitor Management System to receive temporary identification badges before proceeding. All adults who work with our students during and after school require background checks conducted annually. We utilize the Active Shooter Response (ASR) alert system for emergency communications with law enforcement. Staff members wear photo identification badges, to include the substitute teachers, for easy identification in a crisis. We have implemented the Safe and Supportive School Program as required by the state, ensuring that our students and staff feel engaged and connected. Our teachers and administrators are also trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
In its recent guidance, TEA decreed that all local education agencies must take the following actions prior to the start of the new school year:
•Conduct a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit.
• Conduct an Exterior Door Safety Audit.
• Convene the LEA’s Safety and Security Committee to review: the multi-hazard emergency operations plan (EOP); and, as a component of the EOP, the LEA’s active threat plan.
• Ensure all campus staff (including substitutes) are trained on their specific LEA and campus safety procedures.
• Schedule all mandatory drills for the school year.
• Ensure all threat assessment team members are trained.
• Review and, if necessary, update access control procedures .
For the new school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps (ensuring doors are closed and locked) at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted.A survey is being issued to all LEAs to ensure that all steps are followed.
Responses to this survey are due no later than Sept. 9.