Following the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, schools across the country have increased security and restricted visitors to deal with a potential new wave of copycat threats.
KERA News reports school safety measures in Texas are largely left to the state’s more than 1,200 public school districts and charter schools, though the state requires emergency plans and safety drills and permits only certain individuals to carry guns in schools.
While Texas leaders have relaxed gun laws, including eliminating the requirement for a handgun license in 2021, schools are considered gun-free zones under federal and state laws, except in certain circumstances.
A federal law passed in 1990 prohibits firearms on school property or within 1,000 feet of public and private schools, with exceptions for law enforcement and individuals licensed to carry.
Other exceptions include if the gun is not loaded and is locked away, or if the district has authorized an individual to carry a firearm. Texas also generally prohibits guns from being used in school-sponsored activities unless an individual is exempt.
School districts can also enact their own policies allowing certain people to carry guns in their buildings. Kathy Martinez-Prather, director of the Texas School Safety Center, explained that these policies are decided upon by districts and do not have uniform requirements.
According to the Texas Association of School Boards, most school districts use this option to authorize commissioned peace officers in school district police departments to carry a gun, but it can also be used to authorize other school staff.
Current Texas law only permits school employees to carry guns on school property with explicit written permission from the district, per Texas Penal Code Sec. 46.03. The School Marshal Law, enacted in 2013, allows school marshals to carry concealed weapons around students rather than storing them in lockers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suggested teachers be armed after the Uvalde shooting, The Dallas Express reports.
“We need to continue to try to focus on preventing this,” Paxton said. “We can’t stop bad people from doing bad things. They’re going to violate murder laws. They’re not going to follow gun laws. I’ve never understood that argument.”
Some Texas legislators have responded to the shooting by saying that school personnel should carry guns; among them, Senator Ted Cruz called for armed law enforcement at schools.
“We know from past experience that the most effective tool for keeping kids safe is armed law enforcement on the campus,” Cruz told MSNBC.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused such views of “opposing all efforts to save lives” and called for bipartisan anti-gun legislation.
“It’s much easier to scream about guns than it is to demand answers about where our culture is failing,” Cruz said.
