HOUSTON – As school districts across Texas deal with a spike in threats, ensuring students are safe has become an even more harrowing task.
A law was passed in September 2023 in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. House Bill 3 requires an armed guard at every school campus in Texas. But are there really?
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When House Bill 3 initially passed, we contacted Houston area school districts to see if they would be complying with the law, but many said they would file for a Good Cause Exception due to lack of funds.
With this recent surge in school threats, we wanted to circle back to see how many school districts in the Houston area are in compliance.
Here are the results:
Aldine ISD: The District police department employs 68 fully licensed and armed police officers and 5 part time officers who patrol the district 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additional funding dedicated specifically to school safety would be welcome to ensure we have access to additional resources to fulfill the HB3 requirements to provide armed personnel at every campus.
Alief ISD: Alief ISD will be seeking a Good Cause Exception.
Alvin ISD: The district has a police officer at every single campus; however, they do claim a Good Cause Exception on the off chance someone isn’t able to make it to campus or has to leave.
Brazosport ISD: The district has an armed guard at every school.
Channelview ISD: We are in compliance. For our secondary campuses we exceed compliance.
Clear Creek ISD: Waiting on response.
Cleveland ISD: This is actually something we’ve done since before it was required by law. We have at least one of our officers stationed at each of our campuses at all times.
Conroe ISD: Conroe ISD has a police presence at each campus during regular school hours. Although, in some instances, officers are assigned more than one campus that is co-located on a property or geographically close. After much discussion, the Board passed a Good Cause Exception. At the time the Board addressed this, the Conroe ISD Police Department had 76 officers. Over the last year, we have worked diligently to recruit and hire the best qualified police officers, and we currently have 89 police officers.
Cy-Fair ISD: Our Board of Trustees adopted a Good Cause Exception due to the lack of adequate funding and qualified personnel. We assign two officers full-time to each high school and one officer full-time to each middle school; day patrol officers are assigned to elementary schools by zones.
Deer Park ISD: We have an officer on every campus.
Dickinson ISD: We have at least one officer at every Middle School and Junior High campus. There are at least three officers at the high school campus, and for every two of our six elementary schools, there is one officer moving between them. We had to file a Good Cause Exception because of the cost of having a permanent guard at every school.
Fort Bend ISD: We have a security guard at all elementary schools and our own FBISD police officers at middle and high schools.
Friendswood ISD: We do have an armed guard at every campus this year.
Galena Park ISD: Waiting on response
Galveston ISD: The Galveston ISD Board of Trustees has passed a Good Cause Exception to this HB 3 requirement. GISD employs its own police force and also utilizes guardians to protect campuses.
Goose Creek ISD: Waiting on response
Houston ISD: We have officers at every high school, every middle school, and we are adding armed guards to our elementary school campuses. That is one of the reasons we sought and received the Good Cause Exception. Whether there’s an armed guard or not, our patrol officers and our external partners supplement the safety of our elementary school students.
Humble ISD: Humble ISD has a licensed police officer at every campus. The officers are from the Humble ISD Police Department or from a police department in the area.
Katy ISD: Katy ISD not only meets but exceeds Texas school safety standards. Every elementary campus is staffed with an armed security guard, and junior high and high school campuses benefit from both armed security guards and police officers. All armed personnel undergo extensive training in safety practices, firearm usage, and threat assessment. These security and police officers are full-time Katy ISD employees, reflecting our commitment to creating a safe learning environment while fostering positive relationships within the campus communities they serve.
Klein ISD: We have an armed guard at every campus. The board approved a million dollars to hire and train the new campus guards.
La Porte ISD: Waiting on response
Lamar CISD: The district has an armed police officer assigned to every campus.
New Caney ISD: Yes, we are in compliance.
Magnolia ISD: Magnolia ISD has partnered with Precinct 5 Montgomery County Constable’s Office since 2018. Our board committed to having an armed police officer at every campus before the state made it a requirement. Districts are struggling because we receive $250,000 from the State for security and spend $1.9 million.
Montgomery ISD: We do have an armed guard on every campus.
Pasadena ISD: Waiting on response
Pearland ISD: The Pearland ISD Board of Trustees approved a Good Cause Exception to HB3 due to funding and staffing shortages. Before the requirements of HB 3, Pearland ISD, through a partnership with Pearland PD, had 11 SROs stationed among our high schools and junior highs, while also covering other campus needs. We have a total of 23 campuses. Pearland ISD and Pearland PD have developed an alternate plan to cover the remaining middle and elementary campuses with a police officer reporting on a rotation basis to each campus during the school day. We will work to place the additional 15 officers required, plus supervisors, as funds and staffing become available.
Santa Fe ISD: We fully comply with HB 3. We have maintained a presence of armed officers across all our campuses even before the bill was enacted.
Sheldon ISD: We have had dedicated law enforcement at all 13 campuses since 2022.
Splendora ISD: We have our own police department and a police officer at every campus.
Spring Branch ISD: Spring Branch ISD has not fully complied with HB 3 but are quickly moving towards it. We have hired several officers recently, and once their training is complete, they will be placed in schools. We have two dozen more in the background process. The only limitation now is the lack of state funding. We also wanted to note that SBISD spends almost $2 million in additional general funds annually to meet HB3 safety and security requirements that are not funded by the state.
Texas City ISD: Yes, we have a contract with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department. We can meet and/or exceed the requirements set forth in HB3.
Waller ISD: We meet these requirements thanks to our incredible partnerships with the Harris County Sherriff’s Office and Waller County Sherriff’s Office.
Yes Prep: YES Prep Public Schools is in compliance with HB3. The public charter school district has an armed officer at each of its campuses across Houston.