The Amarillo Pioneer

Amarillo's only free online newspaper. Established in 2016, we work to bring you local news that is unbiased and honest.

 

Abbott Calls for New School Safety Measures Following Florida Shooting

Governor Greg Abbott is calling for new safety measures at Texas schools following a shooting that killed several students in Parkland, Florida.

Abbott sent a letter to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday, calling for measures to increase safety at Texas schools. According to Abbott's Office, the following measures were ordered in the letter:

  • "Catalog and share all available information from the Texas School Safety Center on school safety programs and distribute this information to all school districts, charter schools and education service centers across the state. To the extent possible, distribute this information to private schools and childcare providers as well. The goal is to ensure that all schools have access to the best, most up to date information about strategies to protect schools and students from attacks like the one in Parkland.

  • Ensure that all Texas public schools have completed their statutorily required school safety audits and have submitted confirmation of these audits to the Texas School Safety Center. Also, ensure that all districts have a multi-hazard emergency operations plan in place and ensure that schools have conducted safety and security audits on all facilities, both instructional and non-instructional.

  • Publish on the Texas Education Agency website and via Agency press release a list of any school districts that have not completed the statutory requirements referenced in point two above within 45 days.

  • Work with the Texas School Safety Center, the Texas Department of Public Safety and my office to draft recommendations to the Texas Legislature on changes to the school safety architecture of our state."

In closing his letter, Abbott also said that these steps will help ensure that the Governor's Office fulfills its duty of protecting Texans.

"Our first duty as a government is to protect our citizens from harm," Abbott wrote. "These first steps must be taken to keep our students and communities safe, with the understanding that more will be expected in the future."

For more information, please visit gov.texas.gov.

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