AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, a Texas Senate panel advanced a bill to increase school safety funding for school districts. The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 260.
It builds on the sweeping school safety measure passed last legislative session, which some school districts are struggling to comply with.
The bill increases the per-student and per-campus school safety allotment by $500 million. The money will go toward safety measures and “hardening schools.”
After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, which killed 19 children and two teachers in 2022, state lawmakers passed House Bill 3 in 2023. HB 3 required all public schools to have armed guards on campus and mental health training for certain district employees.
School districts have struggled with the costs associated with implementing that mandate and have told lawmakers the current level of funding is not feasible.
“The mandate for armed security officers has significantly increased personnel cost, including salaries, benefits and ongoing training,” Pflugerville ISD board of trustees member Jean Mayer said. “The mandate in Pflugerville ISD alone, we have calculated an additional annual cost of approximately $1.8 million and a one-time cost of $1.2 million to staff our department under this requirement fully.”
Senate Bill 260, authored by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), doubles the school safety allotment. It increases the amount the states give each school district from $15,000 to $30,000 per campus and increases the amount per student from $10 to $20.
“This bill reaffirms our commitment to making schools safer for students and educators by providing additional financial resources so schools can meet these safety measures,” Huffman said.
Still a shortfall
Mayer said SB 260 is “a step in the right direction.”
“By raising the per student and campus safety allotments, this bill provides districts and additional resources to strengthen security, improve emergency communication systems, enhance safety measures that protect students and staff,” Mayer said. “These improvements will allow districts to make meaningful investments in creating secure learning environments.”
Mayer said the actual cost per student for these mandated safety measures is $128, so even with the increase, there is still a $108 shortfall.
Mayer said districts like Pflugerville will be forced to reallocate money from classroom instruction to cover the costs.
“That means fewer resources for career and technical education programs that prepare students for high-wage and high-demand jobs, cuts to instructional support and curriculum enhancements,” Mayer said.
Rebecca Fowler with the Texas Coalition for Healthy Minds said she loved the doubling of school safety funds but would like to see more controls on how the dollars are spent. Districts are put in a position where they have to choose between the physical hardening of their campuses and the psychological safety of their students.
“We recommend aligning the allowable uses within the school safety allotment to support what is already required in statute, whether that is the health and safety code related to mental health supports or the multi-tiered systems of support,” Fowler said. “We also recommend that we create a mental health allotment because we believe that that is the surest way to safeguard those dollars and ensure that schools have both the hardening and safety dollars for campuses.”
While the school safety allotment does allow for expenditures on behavioral health services, mental health personnel and support programs, Maia Volk with Disability Rights Texas said only 1.4% of the school safety allotment is spent on psychological safety. The House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety and the Statewide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council have recommended a separate mental health allotment in tandem with the school safety allotment.
“Behavioral health plays an important role in the safety and overall climate of a school,” Volk said. “When students are socially, emotionally and mentally well, they feel safe and can better focus on learning.”
Stephanie Holdren, with the Texas Parent Teacher Association, also called the bill to double the per-student and per-campus allotments a significant step forward.
“Research indicates that students who feel safe at school experience fewer symptoms of depression, attend school more regularly, receive higher grades and are more likely to graduate on time,” Holdren said. “By working together to enhance school safety, we can foster an environment where attendance increases and learning and mental well-being thrive.”
The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Uvalde Strong Act
State Rep. Don Mclaughlin, who was the mayor of Uvalde when the shooting happened in May 2022, has filed House Bill 33, which he called the “Uvalde Strong Act.”
He said the legislation would ensure the fatal mistakes and catastrophic failures in law enforcement preparedness, emergency response coordination and school safety protocols that highlighted the response to the Robb Elementary School shooting never happen again.
“What happened that day was a failure of duty, leadership and preparedness,” Rep. McLaughlin said in a statement. “Law enforcement hesitated, communication broke down and innocent children and teachers were left defenseless. We must do what we can to ensure these mistakes are never repeated. The Uvalde Strong Act is about guaranteeing that when a crisis strikes, there is no confusion and no delay – only immediate, decisive action to save lives.”
The Uvalde Strong Act creates standardized crisis response policies “that prioritize immediate action and long-term safety.” It also establishes comprehensive support systems for first responders, mandates thorough post-incident evaluations and invests in long-term sustainability measures to prevent future tragedies.
HB 33 has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety. A hearing on that bill has not yet been scheduled.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) has filed legislation to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic weapons such as AR-15s to 21 years old. Gutierrez and the families of victims of the mass shooting have been pushing lawmakers to do more. The state senator also filed two other bills that would allow a judge to temporarily remove firearms from someone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others and to prohibit the creation of 3D gun prints.
During the last legislative session in 2023, Gutierrez filed 21 bills in honor of the 21 victims at Robb Elementary, which aimed at reducing gun violence. None passed.