LEWISVILLE, Texas — Students and staff are heading back to school this fall with a new law in place to add armed guards to campuses.
House Bill 3 requires districts to have armed security guards at every campus, but critics have argued the unfunded mandate puts an unrealistic hiring and funding burden on schools.
In Lewisville ISD, Matthew Garrett oversees the district’s safety and security and said while they’ve expanded their partnership with the city’s police department in recent years, it wasn’t possible to get 50 additional officers to fit the district’s needs and the law’s requirement.
“These are my kids and my wife in the schools as well,” Garrett said. “I want to make sure that the schools are safe.”
The law stems from the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last year. Lawmakers declined to pass several proposals for gun safety, including raising the minimum age to buy an assault rifle from 18 to 21. Instead, the state focused on new security measures as well as mental health expansion allowing districts to hire unlicensed chaplains to work with students.
Lewisville’s replacement for officers is known as its "Guardians" program, which will operate like a small police force.
“It’s things that school districts really haven’t done a lot with, working with gun ranges to try to get training spaces, the training equipment, the first time for us to buy ammunition,” Garrett said.
Those ammunition, training and plated vests each Guardian will wear aren’t cheap.
“The funding is a concern for our district,” Superintendent Dr. Lori Rapp said.
This year, based on state funding allocations, Lewisville ISD received roughly $1.5 million from the state to help with security improvements, but it expects the cost of the guardian program to total $4 million.
“I ultimately think there’s no more important investment than in the children in the State of Texas,” Rapp said.
So far, 43 people have applied to Guardians, and 10 are set to be hired, but there won’t be any when students return Wednesday.
The district said the delay is in part due to the fact it requires 100 hours of training versus the state’s bar of 16 hours and has lengthy background checks, drug and alcohol screening and psych evaluations.
For now, it will continue a rover program where officers go from campus to campus to patrol. Lawmakers didn't add a punishment for districts that aren't in compliance with the law.
“We want to make sure we have the right assets in the right place,” Garrett said. “This is a pretty big job responsibility.”
Pay is $30/hour with an 8.5-hour work week on average. Supervisors will be on a pay scale.
Every school year comes with energy and excitement but also nerves for the unknown.
“I think as a district we’ve done a good job with ensuring that our schools are safe and secure,” Rapp said. “But they’re still welcoming places for children.”