Has more than 5 million
students went back to school in
Texas this fall. The debate
over how to keep them safe.
>> He’s far from over the tragedies in Santa Fe and
tragedies in Santa Fe and
Uvalde exposed lingering holes
in campus. Safety KPRC. 2
investigator Robert Arnold
explains the struggle. School
districts continue to face.
>> When it comes to identifying
potentially violent students and holding lawmakers
and holding lawmakers
accountable in finding
solutions.
>> lost faith in the whole process.
>> The biz like this. They tear
in the fabric of a community.
We’re interested in getting to
solutions that work.
After 8 students and 2 teachers were murdered at Santa Fe High
were murdered at Santa Fe High
School state legislators passed
more than a dozen school safety
laws. Not prevented. Uvalde.
>> I’m sad. I’m sad and I’m frustrated because I do not
frustrated because I do not
feel like our children are any
safer than they were.
After the Santa Fe shooting
after the murders at Robb
Elementary lawmakers again scheduled hearings and listen
scheduled hearings and listen
to parents who lost children.
I don’t want.
>> My daughter to just be
remembered for what happened
to her. I want her to be
remembered for change.
>> How do you address that? We want to have a solution that
We want to have a solution that
addresses not only mass
shootings.
But all the other types of
violence. What are your priorities? I think now in
priorities? I think now in
retrospect, people don’t know
what steps need to be taken to
make sure they have an
operational plan that actually
results in safety. One of the
most significant pieces of legislation to emerge from the
legislation to emerge from the
horrors of Santa Fe with Senate
Bill 11, which requires school
districts to conduct threat
assessments on potentially
violent students. >> Those threat detection teams
>> Those threat detection teams
are there to recognize the
obvious and that didn’t occur.
Due Valley state law also
requires members of these teams
to go through at least 1, 7.
Our threat assessment training course, according to data
course, according to data
obtained from the Texas
Education Agency, about 30% of
the people on these teams have
not yet gone through this training. We did have an uptick
training. We did have an uptick
in training this summer that
come after Uvalde.
>> Corrects in Celina blight
is with the Texas School Safety
Center. One of the things as school districts are dealing
school districts are dealing
with is their team members have
changed this year. The key is
really figuring out how did
that team operation allies to support the campus? But it’s up
support the campus? But it’s up
to each individual school
district to figure out how to
achieve this mandate. T E a
data analyzed by KPRC. 2
investigates shows these teams received more than 67,000
received more than 67,000
reports of potentially violent
students during the 2021 2022
school year. >> In 17% of the cases teams
>> In 17% of the cases teams
determined there was a threat
in in an additional 3% of
cases. It was determined there
was an imminent threat in the
student was reported to law enforcement. How difficult was
enforcement. How difficult was
that in a straight ERS and
educators to suddenly have to
assess whether or not some
buddies it’s going to be
violent. The first thing that
had to be done was we had to
train staff. >> What does?
>> What does?
>> Certain types of behaviors
look like HD chambers is
retiring after 12 years as the
Alief ISD superintendent, he
felt for these teams to work
all employees needed some level
of threat detection training.
We didn’t have enough trained
individuals in our district
to train the people that need to be trained. Chambers said
to be trained. Chambers said
he had to find the money in
the district’s budget to make
this training happen. We
funding for mental health.
We need additional resources. President of the Texas American
President of the Texas American
Federation of Teachers Zeph
Capo says not every district
has the funds for training
beyond the state required 7 hour course. An ounce of
hour course. An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound
of cure. And we have not
figured that out in the state
of Texas. Yet the more we’ve
looked under the hood, the more we found wrong with the whole
we found wrong with the whole
engine. Let’s try putting more
resources into providing social
workers and the stride, the
things that we didn’t want to
do last time. >> Is your kids safe in school
>> Is your kids safe in school
today? Can another shooter walk
and live in Santa Fe? Anybody
and do the same thing they did
that. What do you think the
interest, I think and have them all.
>> Exactly. What form school
safety and security will take
during the upcoming session is
still being debated. Governor
Greg Abbott also has not yet
named a chief of school security in safety. That’s a
security in safety. That’s a
new position that he ordered be
created after you all day.
The governor did send us a
statement, though, reading
mental health support on campuses will be a priority.
campuses will be a priority.
The governor’s full statement
is on click 2 Houston dot com