From TEA and Texas School Safety Center
Date: June 30, 2022
Subject: Required School Safety Action Steps This Summer
Category: School Safety
Next Steps: Begin actions related to safety audits, including exterior door safety audits
...
Overview
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) are committed to supporting local educational agencies (LEAs) in their efforts to improve the safety and security of school facilities for staff, students, and visitors. On June 1 and 2, Governor Abbott charged TxSSC and TEA with a set of directives to support the safety and security of public schools.
Under Governor Abbott’s leadership, TEA and TxSSC are planning a set of actions that will collectively improve the level of safety at all Texas public schools. This correspondence is being issued to LEAs to provide guidance related to actions LEAs must take prior to the start of the new school year that will make their campuses more secure. This correspondence is also intended to share information about the supports available now and those that are coming in the weeks and months ahead.
All Texas LEAs must take the following actions prior to the start of the new school year:
- Conduct a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit (see below)
- Conduct an Exterior Door Safety Audit (see below)
- Convene the LEA’s Safety and Security Committee to review:
- the multi-hazard emergency operations plan (EOP)
- and, as a component of the EOP, the LEA’s active threat plan
- Ensure all campus staff (including substitutes) are trained on their specific LEA and campus safety procedures
- Schedule all mandatory drills for the school year
- Ensure all threat assessment team members are trained
- Review and, if necessary, update access control procedures
- For the new school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps (ensuring doors are closed and locked) at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted.
Under authority of Texas Education Code (TEC), Section 37.207, LEAs are required to respond to a survey issued by TxSSC to certify each of the above items have been completed by September 1, 2022. To ensure clarity of expectations, LEAs can review this document to see each of the survey questions they will be asked. The survey will be open no later than September 1, 2022, and responses will be due no later than September 9, 2022.
Moving forward, we want to ensure LEAs are aware of a few other actions planned:
TEA will be issuing a proposed rule based on authority in TEC, Sections 7.061 and 37.115, that will require all LEAs in Texas to ensure all instructional facilities meet certain facilities standards and that certain related procedures are followed on an ongoing basis. The rule is intended to apply to all district and charter school instructional facilities, whether leased or owned and regardless of construction date, and will similarly reinforce the requirements noted above.
With any new requirements that may be imposed, our goal is to provide support to assist LEAs in meeting these requirements. A few items of note:
- TEA will open a data collection allowing LEAs to submit information on any facility components that are not in compliance with these to-be-proposed facility standards, along with estimated costs to remedy the compliance. This information will be compiled and submitted to the Texas Legislature for purposes of requesting funds for LEAs.
- As described in this correspondence, some funds are available immediately for needed facility improvements under the recently extended SB500 school safety grants.
- As noted here, additional funds have just been approved by Governor Abbott and legislative leadership for silent panic alert systems for schools. We are currently working on the details of this grant and will provide more information as soon as it is available.
- Given the need for school systems to update their access control procedures to include weekly exterior door sweeps, TEA also plans to share tools and best practice examples gleaned from Texas LEAs on how to manage weekly exterior door sweeps in the most efficient manner possible.
- Additionally, on Monday, June 6, 2022, TxSSC issued this correspondence that included a host of resources designed to help LEAs ensure compliance with all these required summer safety actions.
Beyond these actions focused on preparing for the beginning of the new school year, under Governor Abbott’s leadership, TEA, TxSSC, and other state agency partners are working on additional actions to provide more support to improve school safety. This includes efforts to expand technical assistance for emergency operations plan development, conducting threat assessment protocols, expanding availability of school-based law enforcement, improving the efficacy of drills and incident preparedness exercises, and supporting LEA efforts in implementing multi-tiered system of supports. Expect more information on these topics as the supports become available.
Summer Safety Audit Guidance & Tools
As part of immediate actions to improve campus safety around the state, all LEAs are expected to conduct a targeted safety audit before the start of the school year. To guide this process, TEA and TxSSC are providing the Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit Tool. This tool is a limited scope version of the TxSSC School Safety and Security Audit tool, including about 50 questions to be considered for each LEA instructional facility, with roughly half of the questions related to campus procedures and the other half related to campus physical plant. The tool also includes an optional companion guide to help guide reflections and considerations as LEAs audit the effectiveness of their approach to school safety.
As part of the targeted summer partial safety audit, LEAs must inspect every exterior door of each of their instructional facilities. The purpose of this inspection is to verify that every exterior door of instructional facilities closes and locks as intended to ensure appropriate levels of campus security. With this audit performed, LEAs can begin taking steps immediately to remedy any issues found. To assist in conducting this audit, TEA is providing a template Exterior Door Safety Audit Tracker tool. This tool has been designed to establish a short checklist for each door, to verify it is functioning as intended for minimum security, or determine if it is in need of maintenance.
It should be noted that the information collected from the Exterior Door Safety Audit, the Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit, and the TxSSC September survey are all part of a school's safety and security audit and not subject to disclosure under Ch. 552, Government Code, pursuant to TEC, Sections 37.108, 37.2071, and other relevant statutory provisions. This disclosure exception continues to apply when this information is shared with TEA and TxSSC. Neither TEA nor TxSSC will publicly disclose any individual LEA information found in these data but will only provide aggregate state-level data summaries. However, per TEC, Section 37.108(c-2), the public disclosure exception may not apply to requests to determine whether information was gathered and whether there was compliance with required processes.
In accordance with TEC, Sections 37.108 and 37.109, the results of these audits shall be reviewed by each school safety and security committee at an upcoming meeting, and can be reviewed in executive session. The Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and Exterior Door Safety Audit do not replace the comprehensive safety and security audits required once every three years by TEC, Section 37.108. Each LEA should continue to conduct a full safety audit locally as planned. However, LEAs will be required to certify that the Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and Exterior Door Safety Audit have been completed in their September 2022 report to the TxSSC, as outlined in the TxSSC Letter to Superintendents. LEAs must locally retain all completed copies of their Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and Exterior Door Safety Audit in accordance with local record retention policies.
Final Note
Please know that both TEA and the TxSSC stand ready to support LEAs as they work to make school facilities safer and more secure for staff, students, and visitors. We have posted some of these school safety resources at: https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/safe-and-supportive-schools/school-safety-resources. And if you have any questions, please contact:
TEA: safeschools@tea.texas.gov
TXSSC: txssc@txstate.edu
We understand that the safety of students and staff is always the top priority of Texas public school systems. While the requirements described herein may be new to a few, we know that most schools in Texas are already implementing these actions and more to keep our students and staff safe. We hope that the added support provided by the state, both financial and technical, will help further the efforts you are implementing locally to ensure every one of our campuses is both safe and supportive for our students and staff.
Yours in Service,
Mike Morath
Commissioner
Texas Education Agency
Kathy Martinez-Prather, Ph.D.
Director
Texas School Safety Center
Region 12, Safe and Healthy Schools Training Dates
July 19, 10am-12pm, session 7/19/22
Standard Reunification Protocol (SRP) with HOTCOG and Mansfield ISD
July 20, session 264978
MTSS 2.0: Enhancing your Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
August 3-4, 8am-5pm
Drug Impairment Training for Educational Professionals (DITEP)
https://texasfriday.org/event/ditep-waco-2-day-training/
August 9, 8:30am -9:30am, session 277736
Stop the Bleed TOT
September 20, 9am to 11am, session 278130
Safe and Healthy Schools Series and Office Hours (this is ongoing through the year)
September 21, 9am to 4pm, session 266810
Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training for Educators
September 27, 12pm to 1pm, session 275102
School Board Human Trafficking
Online, On-Demand Courses
- Human Trafficking for Superintendents, session #252332
- Human Trafficking for School Boards, session #252323
- SB 11: The Omnibus School Safety Bill Canvas Course, session # 252334
- Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) & Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET), session #257779
*Watch our live calendar at https://tinyurl.com/23d8cp2r
Training available to schedule on-site:
- Behavior Threat Assessment (to train your Threat Assessment/Safe and Supportive Schools Team)
- Behavior Threat Assessment TableTops (for your Threat Assessment/Safe and Supportive Schools Team to take an in-depth look at how your team operates and work through a case)
- Digital Responsibility & Social Media Safety (to train your students)
- True Colors (offered for students and staff as a team-building/self-awareness opportunity)
- AS+K Suicide Prevention (to train staff)
- Youth Mental Health First Aid (to train staff)
- Trauma-Sensitive Schools (to train staff)
*Contact us for pricing and to schedule.
Heart of Texas Council of Governments Offering
WHAT: G-300 Intermediate Incident Command System for Expanding Incidents course
WHEN: Monday, July 25th – Wednesday, July 27th
TIME: 0800 – 1700 Daily
WHERE: HOTCOG – 1514 S. New Road, Waco, Texas 76711
COST: No Charge
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE G-300 CLASS
This course is open to the first 25 people who sign up through PreparingTexas.org.
2. The Heart of Texas Council of Governments (HOTCOG) is excited to announce that we are hosting a G-400 Advanced Incident Command System, Command and General Staff course from July 28th through July 29th at the HOTCOG building at 1514 S. New Road, Waco, Texas 76711.
WHAT: G-400 Advanced Incident Command System, Command and General Staff
WHEN: Thursday, July 28th – Friday, July 29th
TIME: 0800 – 1700 Daily
WHERE: HOTCOG – 1514 S. New Road, Waco, Texas 76711
COST: No Charge
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE G-400 CLASS
This course is open to the first 25 people who sign up through PreparingTexas.org.
WORTHY ANNOUNCEMENTS AND WORK
1. Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) TA Center has released
- Developing Memoranda of Understanding for Enhancing Emergency Preparedness in the School Setting (Online Course)
Learn More - REMS July 2022 Newsletter (https://apps1.seiservices.com/remsemailblast/emailfiles/2022-07/JulyNewsletter/july2022-browser.html)
2. iloveuguys Foundation shares:
SRP 2023 is Here!
As everything around us is ever-evolving, so is the Standard Response Protocol! We are excited to release SRP 2023 which includes additional guidance and detail throughout the book.
No worries - no significant changes have been made to the Standard Response Protocol!
SRP 2023 has been updated to include additional guidance and detail around conducting drills, messaging to parents and guardians, sequencing of the actions, and environmental factors that may impact decisions.
All existing materials will remain unchanged (posters, handouts, etc). The current Classroom Instructor Guide will remain valid, but we will be updating in the coming months to include additional detail and guidance.
3. The Campus Safety Magazine delivers:
- 3 Things Your School District Needs to Consider When Planning for Natural Disasters Article
- Schools Had Most Shootings in 2 Decades According to New Federal Report Article
- The U.S. Department of Education Releases Proposed Changes to Title IX Regulations, Invites Public Comment Article
- 10 Mental Health Tips for Schools After a Violent Event Article
4. The National School Safety Center presents:
- Fostering Family Engagement On-Demand Webinar
The Fostering Family Engagement webinar featured presenters from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing discussing how schools could overcome barriers to engaging families. Last week we released the on-demand version of this webinar. It can be accessed here. - School Policing Programs: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go Next (Publication) Learn More
- What It Means to Be a School Leader (Podcast Series)
Episode 1: Trauma-Informed,
Resilience-Oriented Leadership
Episode 2: Rapid-Cycle Adaptive Leadership
Episode 3: Leading Through Crises
Improving School Climate & Safety Through Inter-Professional Collaboration Training Series (Self-Paced)
Trauma-Informed Practices Across School Settings (On-Demand Webinar)
Webinar Highlights PDF Available
Learn MoreTrauma-Informed Practices: Prevention and De-Escalating Disruptive Behavior (On-Demand Webinar)
Engaging Stakeholders in School Safety Program Planning Webinar (Self-Paced)
Highlights PDF Available
Learn MoreReducing Gun Violence: Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Video)
5. Texas Health and Human Services presents:
- Suicide Postvention in Schools Training
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Mental Health Coordination is partnering with Greg Hudnall, Ed.D., the founder of Hope Squad, to present a talk called “What to Do After a Suicide: School Postvention.” This virtual event is designed specifically for Texas school personnel, district staff, mental/behavioral health partners, and other community stakeholders involved in postvention. The training will be held on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. CDT. Register for the suicide postvention in school webinar.
6. The Department of Homeland Security CISA shares:
DHS-CISA provides many resources for Active Shooter Preparedness. However, if you’re wondering where you need to start, please see our planning tools so you can get an Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan in place and practice/exercise that plan as soon as and as often as possible.
The Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Guide supplements the Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Video below. Together, they create a virtual training tool designed to help develop an organization’s Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan.
The Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Video describes the fundamental concepts of developing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for an active shooter scenario. This instructive video guides viewers through important considerations of EAP development utilizing the first-hand perspectives of active shooter survivors, first responder personnel, and other subject matter experts who share their unique insight.
The Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan Template (attached) is a fillable form useful in documenting an organization’s Active Shooter Emergency Action Plan.
For additional Active Shooter Preparedness resources, please visit our DHS-CISA Active Shooter Preparedness Website
7. From the Trauma Research Foundation:
- Protecting the Well-Being of our Children Article - No matter the age, if your child is scared, crying, feeling panicky, or reacts by having disturbed sleep or eating patterns, reassure them that this is a normal reaction. It’s like getting wounded when you break an arm or have a bad virus. Your body needs to repair. It needs time, TLC, reduced stress and pressure, and time spent together with loved ones.
- Check out the TRF Library - Somatic Resources to access a variety of body-based, mini-workshop collections from bright voices in the field.
It's a great resource, and free to the public!
8. From TSPRA EduLege:
Bulletproof and clear … Some parents are increasingly interested in bulletproof backpacks, after the school shooting in Uvalde last month. Out of concern for the safety of her children, Angélica Azpeitia, a 42-year-old Oak Cliff parent, told the Dallas Morning News that she is intent on purchasing backpacks that can stop bullets.
Ms. Azpeitia learned about bulletproof backpacks from her eldest daughter, who discovered them on TikTok. Home Depot and Dick’s Sporting Goods are among the retailers that sell them on-line. Companies that sell safety gear—such as Guard Dog Security, TuffyPacks, and Bullet Blocker—say that they have experienced an increase in sales of bulletproof backpacks after the shootings.
Steve Naremore, founder of Houston-based TuffyPacks, says that he created his company with his daughter in mind, because she was an elementary school teacher at the time. “ I got into this business because my daughter was a 4 th Grade school teacher, and she told me how many active shooter drills they had to do,” Mr. Naremore said. “ And so, I created this product for parents.”
* * *
Several Texas school districts will require that students carry clear backpacks, starting with the 2022-2023 school year. Ingleside became one of the latest to announce the new policy. " Safety is a top priority for Ingleside ISD and is on the forefront of concern for school districts across Texas and our nation," the district said in a statement. The clear backpack policy is also expected to aid in processing students through metal detector lines at its secondary campuses, the Ingleside district said.
The Harper School District also announced that it will implement a clear backpack policy for students starting in the fall “in light of the recent school shooting, and in an effort to do everything we can to increase safety for our students and staff.” Two local businesses donated a backpack for every student in the Harper district. Greenville also announced that it will require clear backpacks starting in the fall, calling it a “common-sense measure.”
They’re packing—a phone …
In the aftermath of another school shooting, concerned parents and educators are weighing whether mobile phones are a distraction or a potential lifeline for students. One of the students who called 911 in Uvalde was believed to have used her teacher’s phone after the educator was shot to death and dropped her device.
Phone ownership already is widespread among younger children, with 43 percent of eight-to-12-year-olds owning their own smartphone, according to the 2021 Common Sense Census. Often, the push to make sure children are allowed to bring their devices into schools does not come from the students, but from their families. A phone is a way for guardians to coordinate pickups, to see a child’s location throughout the day, and to communicate with them in case of an emergency.
Regardless, security experts say that there needs to be some ground rules and guidance on how to use a phone in a worst-case scenario. “ The general rule is, when you’re in a lockdown, educators and safety officials don’t want kids on the phones because you want their full 100 percent attention on the teacher or other educators,” Ken Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services, recently told the Washington Post. Mr. Trump provides schools lockdown training, walking educators through the best ways to save lives during a threat like an active shooter. Teachers are trained to lock their classroom doors, turn out the lights, pull down any blinds, and move the children to “hard corners”—areas at an angle that would be difficult to shoot at from a door.
But the most important piece of advice he gives in trainings— Be quiet. A phone can make unwanted noises, and in a silent lockdown, even a vibration could be too loud. Also, students might also be tempted to post about an ongoing incident to social media, which Mr. Trump said could both inspire other potential shooters seeking fame or reveal details about their location. Even the ability to call 911 is not always a good reason, because an entire school full of people calling at once could overload a switchboard.
9. Good afternoon! Issue 2.6 of the MTSS Newsletter has some great information for classroom teachers, a book recommendation, and upcoming professional development. Please feel free to share the newsletter with your colleagues. You may access all previous issues for the 2021-2022 school year HERE. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Crystal Robinson, M.Ed.
Education Specialist
RTI, MTSS, 504
254-297-1217
From TEA
(https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/T4AFAQ.pdf)
2.Title IVA Funds, 2022-2023
- Currently, there are no approved Title IV, Part A waivers for 2022-2023. Therefore, LEAs should plan to meet all Title IVA content area minimums and comprehensive needs assessment requirements (if allocation is greater than $30K) in 2022-2023.
- Regardless of allocation amount, LEAs must adhere to the 15% technology infrastructure limit in 2022-2023.
- See the TEA Title IVA Program Guide for more details.
3. Required Title IVA Stakeholders, 2022-2023
- During the design and development of the Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1 program, an LEA or consortium of LEAs must engage in consultation with stakeholders in the area served by the LEA. (ESEA section 4106(c)(1).
- Regardless of allocation amount, LEAs must document inclusion of all Title IV, Part A required stakeholders in the planning process before making LEA program decisions for 2022-2023 on the ESSA Consolidated Application.
- See the TEA Title IVA Program Guide and the TEA Title I Capacity Building CCNA Toolkit, Program TIVA section, for more details and related tools and resources.
- Q1: We have a PNP school that is closing at the end of the month. They were participating in ESSA Title II, Part A; Title III, Part A; and Title IV, Part A programs. How does the LEA distribute the closing PNP school’s remaining funds for equitable services?
- A1: For programs covered under the Title VIII Uniform Provision, if an LEA provided equitable services for private school students in any given year, any carryover funds for services to private school students would be considered additional funds for that program for public and private school students in the subsequent year. Those funds then would be used, along with any other carryover funds, for both public and private school students on an equitable basis. This situation might occur, for example, if private school students and teachers did not fully participate in the ESEA program (e.g., private school teachers opted out of a proposed professional development activity), even though an equitable program was planned and offered for those students and teachers.
- The above FAQ response would be the same for PNPs closing, declining partial/all equitable services, or having services remaining.
- For more guidance on carryover of funds for PNPs, review the TEA PNP Frequently Asked Questions document.
5. The Title IV, Part A School Safety Initiative has updated its webpage with additional resources and tools. Remind LEAs of these resources available.
6. TEA has developed a new Safe and Supportive Schools Webpage. (https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/health-safety-discipline/safe-and-supportive-school-program)
7. The School Mental Health Database is live!! (https://schoolmentalhealthtxdatabase.org/)
PAX Corner
From the TxSSC...
The Texas School Safety Center, in collaboration with Safer Schools Together, is hosting a lunch and learn experience that will complement the Digital Threat Assessment (DTA) training. The DTA training teaches the tools and methods available to identify online threat-related behavior. This lunch and learn will enhance understanding of the digital landscape and include a live question and answer session with Safer Schools Together Threat Analysts. Participants will learn about school safety, case scenarios, trends, and risk behaviors. Register for one of the virtual behavior trends lunch and learn events.
2. Register for Start with Hello
State & Nat'l Conferences
1. Campus Safety Conference 2022
July 18-20
Fort Worth, TX
2. Region 3 Safe and Supportive Schools Summit
July 25 & 26
Virtual
https://www.escweb.net/tx_r3/catalog/session.aspx?session_id=410897
3. TEHCY Program Summit - Creating Connections, Building Bridges
August 29-31
San Marcos and Virtual
4. 2022 National Threat Assessment Conference for Educational Institutions
October 10-13
Virginia Beach, VA
5. DHS CISA National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security
November 1-2
Virtual
6/13/22 The More You Know
5/31/22 The More You Know
5/2/22 The More You Know
Upcoming State Safe and Healthy School Deadlines
Public Schools should conduct a safety audit of facilities from September 2020 through August 2023.
Charter Schools should conduct a safety audit from September 2019 through August 2022.
2. District Audit Reports
At the culmination of the Safety Audit process, schools are required to submit a District Audit Report to the Texas School Safety Center.
The Public School expected deadline is August 2023.
The Charter School expected deadline is August 2022.
4. Threat Assessment/SSSP
The last collection period September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2022 was due in June 2022 by Qualtrics survey. TEA will send a Qualtrics survey to Superintendents to collect data.
This is a sample copy of the 21-22 SSSP Survey (https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/safe-and-supportive-school-program-update).
Required training for ALL SSSP Team Members, virtually or in-person through TxSSC or your ESC.
Recommended Digital Threat Assessment training for SSSP Team members through TxSSC and is offered virtually.
5. Emergency Operation Plans and Annexes
Can be requested at any time by TxSSC.
HB 3597 now allows TxSSC to request that schools submit safety-related MOUs and Mutual Aid Agreements.
6. Drill rules become effective - May 17, 2022
7. Bullying Report (New 87th Legislature)
PEIMS Summer Submission due on June 16, 2022
TEC 48.009 (b-4)
ESC Region 12 MTSS Newsletters
Issue 2.6 of the MTSS Newsletter has some great information for classroom teachers, a book recommendation, and upcoming professional development. Please feel free to share the newsletter with your colleagues. You may access all previous issues for the 2021-2022 school year HERE. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
--
Crystal Robinson, M.Ed.
Education Specialist
RTI, MTSS, 504
254-297-1217
State Initiative Website
District Resources
Title IV, Part A FAQs
Title IV FAQs
Title IV Program Guide
TEA Federal Program Compliance Website
Contact us!
Suzanna Avalos, School Nurse Grant Coordinator
David Baker, ESC 12 Clinical Mental Health LiaisonJeni Janek, Education Specialist III/Coordinator
Heather Wheeler, Education Specialist
Email: hwheeler@esc12.net
Website: esc12.net
Location: ESC Region 12, West Loop 340, Waco, TX, USA
Phone: 254-297-1166
Twitter: @R12SafeHealthy