State-wide inspection audits aim for secure campuses at all Texas schools in wake of Uvalde school tragedy
SAN ANTONIO – Across Texas, school staff is required to check to make sure doors are locked and secure. They also have to undergo intruder detection audits conducted by state inspectors.
On Monday night, leaders in the North East and Harlandale school districts will get a better look at how that process works and how they’re doing.
This is where unarmed inspectors go to school campuses to make sure doors are locked and working properly. This was introduced after the Uvalde School Shooting in May 2022, where a gunman walked into Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people, including 19 young students.
At tonight’s meeting, the NEISD school board will get an update on how their district has performed on the audits.
These updates happen at each meeting, similar to several other districts in the area.
The NEISD school board meeting is at 5:30 PM at the Richard A. Middleton Education Center.
Harlandale ISD officials will also be discussing their audit results as well. Board members will learn if there were any findings from the audit that need to be corrected.
If an auditor makes a “finding,” as the School Safety Center calls it, the district superintendent will get an email detailing what happened. Then, a safety and security committee will create a corrective action plan to be presented to the school board. The full details of the findings are not released to the public or the media as a safety measure for the campuses.
That meeting will be at STEM Early College High School.
The Texas School Safety Center, the agency originally in charge of the door checks. That responsibility was passed this year to the Texas Education Agency.
REALTED:Inspectors have been checking school door locks all year. Here’s what they found.
We spoke to the Texas School Safety Center back in July, and in their statewide findings, officials said that it was usually the secondary or side doors that auditors were able to enter.
“I think it’s important to note–and also in some ways not surprising–that access would come from secondary doors,” said Kathy Martinez-Prather, director, Texas School Safety Center. “Making sure that those doors are locked and they’re closing properly is one of the reasons why school districts are now required to conduct weekly exterior door sweeps.”
We’ll be regularly hearing more about these audits because they’re now required by Texas State law.
Last year, almost 84% of campuses were checked, but in 2023, the goal is to check every single one.
Inspectors were not able to gain access to more than 95% of schools they visited.
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