Texas legislature approved a school safety bill that invests heavily in measures lawmakers claim will protect Texas students from violence.
The bill, created in response to and near the first anniversary of the Uvalde shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 dead, passed through the Texas House and Senate on Sunday.
House Bill 3 requires an armed security officer to be posted at every Texas school and mental health training for select school district employees. The bill also allows the state to require schools to develop adequate active shooter protocols.
Requirements for armed security proved to be the most contentious part of the bill, causing negotiations between the Texas House and Senate to drag on until the final days of the 2023 legislative session. Ultimately, the provision that requires a peace officer, school resource officer, school marshal, or armed school district employee passed both chambers.
The proposal also requires Texas State University’s Texas School Safety Center to analyze best practices and safety requirements for schools every five years.
The bill will distribute $15,000 to every Texas public school to fund the program and creates a subagency within the Texas Education Agency to distribute the funds.
But Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), who voted against the bill, said it didn’t go far enough to address school safety.
“I voted against HB 3 because the [Texas Senate] is mandating cops at every public school WITHOUT funding them,” he said in a tweet on Sunday.
“This only further burdens our schools. Our children and teachers deserve far better than this.
Once again [Republicans] prove they don’t care about our kids or [public education].”
Still, Hill Country Representative Carrie Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) celebrated the bill’s passage on Twitter on Sunday.
“Huge win for school safety! HB 3 was just passed in the house, requiring every single campus in Texas to have an armed person on campus. Requiring each campus to have an armed person will be a huge deterrent to those who wish to harm unarmed and defenseless children and teachers.”
Gov. Greg Abbott is widely expected to sign the bill into law.
