The Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) is offering an active shooter training course to all interested teachers and school campus-based staff in the area, including those working at private schools.
The four-hour training course will be offered twice on August 12. One session will last from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. The other will begin at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.
The course consists of three parts. The first is titled “Civilian Response to Active Shooter Event,” an advanced lesson created by Texas State University’s Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center.
It will include going over the “history of active shootings, disaster response psychology…and what actions to take to survive an active shooter event, according to the FWPD’s website.
The second part of the training is called “Stop-The-Bleed.” It will provide participants with hands-on training on how to stop severe bleeding. They will learn how to make a tourniquet and pack a wound.
The final part of the training will consist of “an active shooter scenario using simulated gunfire in which the students will apply everything which they just learned and will learn to operate in a high stress fear-filled environment in order to survive an active shooter event.”
Fort Worth ISD’s deputy superintendent, Karen Molinar, told CBS, “We are pleased to continue our work with the Fort Worth Police Department as we look to take advantage of every resource in protecting our students and employees.”
FWPD stated it would email applicants the training location information once their registration has been confirmed. To register, applicants must submit their name, email address, cell phone number, district and school names, and a photo of their school ID to FWPD via email.
The department added that no guests would be allowed into the classes, and accepted applicants must bring all their credentials to the training venue.
FWPD’s training comes in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in May that claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults, excluding the shooter, who was eventually killed by law enforcement.
In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott requested the formation of special legislative committees to discuss ways to improve school safety, The Dallas Express reported.
Abbott also issued several executive orders that mandated implementation before the new school year. As reported in The Dallas Express, Abbott ordered all public school administrators to receive active shooter training from ALERRT.
Before Abbott’s interventions, school districts already had some defensive tools at their disposal that were not in use.
For instance, districts could require any visitor to show identification under the Texas Education Code. They could then create a database and catalog visitor information to prevent unauthorized visitors and potential sex offenders from entering a school campus. None of the state’s 1,200 school districts have implemented this policy.
Still, there appears to be growing interest in the Texas School Marshal Program, as reported by The Dallas Express, which could allow more school employees to carry firearms on campus to protect the children.
Dallas ISD has not implemented such a program as Dallas ISD typically falls behind other school districts in many initiatives, especially those related to student performance improvement. Despite excellent teachers, DISD continues to have some of the worst schools in the state.
