Texas Tribune by Alex Samuels May 21, 2019
The Texas Senate moved Tuesday to abolish the cap on how many trained school teachers and support staff — known as school marshals — can carry guns on public school campuses, nearly an hour after the House voted to approve a separate and sweeping school safety bill.
Under the marshal program, school personnel, whose identities are kept secret from all but a few local officials, are trained to act as armed peace officers in the absence of law enforcement. Currently, schools that participate in the program can only designate one marshal per 200 students or one marshal per building.
The legislation — House Bill 1387 by Republican state Rep. Cole Hefner of Mt. Pleasant — would remove that limit, a move proponents of the legislation say will make it easier for smaller districts to participate in the state program.
The bill passed 20-11, with only state Sen. Juan “Chuy†Hinojosa, D-McAllen, bucking his party to support the measure. Since the House already approved the legislation, the bill only needs a final stamp of approval in the Senate before it can head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
More:
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/21/texas-senate-marshal-program-school-safety-hb-1387/
