Texas Tribune by Alex Samuels July 13, 2018
Following a deadly mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, Gov. Greg Abbott rolled out a 40-page plan to keep schools safe. Proposals ranged from beefing up existing mental health screening programs to encouraging voluntary use of gun locks at home, but one component seemed to divide lawmakers, districts and Texas schools: arming school employees.
If Texas schools want to arm their staffs, they have two options. One is the marshal program, which Abbott proposed using state funds to help schools implement. It allows local school boards to authorize employees to carry a handgun on campus, but they must be specially trained and licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Under the program, armed school personnel can't carry firearms around students.
The other option was already around when then-Gov. Rick Perry signed the marshal program into law in 2012. Created by Harrold Independent School District Superintendent David Thweatt in 2007, the Guardian Plan allows local school boards to determine training standards and authorize specific employees to carry on campus at all times.
Here are four things to know about the two existing plans that allow school districts to arm their employees:
More:
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/13/santa-fe-shooting-texas-schools-arming-teachers/
