Gov. Greg Abbott calls for immediate safety review of Texas public schools
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants an immediate safety review of all public schools in the state. His call to action comes a week and one day after 19 fourth-graders and two teachers were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary school, and two months after Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police had active shooter training at a local high school.
In a Facebook post from March 22, the Uvalde CISD police said they held the training to "prepare as best as possible" for an active shooter situation.
Preparation was a key theme in Gov. Abbott's letter to Texas School Safety Center Director Dr. Kathy Martinez-Prather, where he instructed all school districts' School Safety and Security Committees will meet ahead of the new school year to review their Emergency Operations Plan.
In that meeting, they must address any campus safety needs, ensure the School Behavioral Threat Assessment Team is trained and has reviewed procedures for each campus, ensure all staff and substitutes are trained on their specific district and campus safety procedures, and conduct an assessment of their access control procedures.
He also said the TxSSC must provide a progress report of findings to the Abbott's office and the Legislature by October 1.
"The work and trainings provided by the Texas School Safety Center has reached thousands of schools and instructors and has benefited millions of Texas school children," reads Abbott's letter. "However, the tragedy at Robb Elementary School last week requires us all to do more. I am charging the TxSSC, in coordination with the TEA, to develop and implement a plan to conduct random inspections to assess access control measures of Texas school districts."
The letter also tasks teams to conduct "in-person, unannounced, random intruder detection audits on school districts."
Abbott also asked the TxSSC to work with his office and the legislature "on recommendations to improve current security systems and determine the funding necessary to continue the work of hardening schools against outside threats."
The TxSSC sent CBS 11 News the following statement:
"We received Governor Abbott's letter and shares his desire to ensure the safety and security of our schools. TxSSC is designing a program and action items to specifically address the governor's directives within the prescribed timelines."
The Uvalde school district announced Wednesday that students and staff would not return to that campus, though plans were still being finalized on where the less than 600 students would attend classes in the fall.
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Wednesday that his office is working with state and federal agencies to request upwards of $45 million in federal funding for the school.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, its School Emergency Response to Violence, known as Project SERV, "funds short-term education-related services" to help educational facilities "recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted."
Abbott has also announced an initial $5 million investment into establishing a long-term Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde County. It will serve as a hub for community services, such as psychological first aid, crisis counseling, and behavioral health services for survivors, first responders, and those in the community experiencing vicarious trauma, including school-based mental health services for students and staff.
"Texas continues providing all available resources to fully assist and support the Uvalde community through their heartbreak," said Abbott. "The Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde County will play an integral role in our mission to ensure those in mourning and healing following last week's tragedy have easily accessible and readily available resources. Every member of the Uvalde community will have access to the critical mental health resources they need at this center as they process and heal during this difficult time."
Gutierrez said he is unaware of any plans to tear down Robb Elementary but that funds obtained through the program by other schools have traditionally been used to rebuild.
State officials have said 19 police officers waited for more than an hour outside the classroom where Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire, despite repeated pleas from children calling 911 for help.
Since the shooting, law enforcement and state officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police have said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed.
As the investigation continues into the May 24 mass shooting, it's possible the details will continue to change. Please click back to CBSDFW.com for updates.