When it comes to school safety and security challenges you may want to know that your school district is promoting the protection of all students. Does the district have a School Safety and Security Committee? Are safety audits being conducted as required by Texas Education Agency (TEA)? What kind of security improvements been made for Texas school district’s uptick to improve security measures from recent tragedies?
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“The State of Texas is acting swiftly to ensure our schools are secure and that children, teachers, and families across Texas have the support and resources they need to be safe as we work to prevent future tragedies like the heinous crime committed in Uvalde.”
Texas State Leaders Support Safety Initiatives
On June 2, 2022, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for immediate school safety review of Texas public schools. In his letter to the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) he said to Director Martinez-Prather, “The State must work beyond writing words on paper and ensuring that the laws are being followed; it must also ensure that a culture of constant vigilance is engrained in every campus and in every school district employee across the state.”
The list included for their safety committees to review their emergency operations plan and address any campus safety needs, train behavioral threat assessment teams per campus, train all staff of campus safety procedures, schedule drills, conduct all campus access points, lock instruction room doors and visitor check-in procedures.
In light of recent events Rockwall ISD enhances safety and security measures with a NEW Director
On July 18, 2022, Rockwall ISD Superintendent, Dr. John Villarreal, introduced and welcomed Mr. Michael Hillman to a new position of Director of Safety and Security in the Student Services Department. He joins Rockwall ISD with 30 years of law enforcement and security experience including 15 years of broad supervisory and team leadership experience. During his safety and security career, Mr. Hillman has been a police officer and is currently a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent.
As the District’s new Director of Safety and Security, Mr. Hillman will lead all efforts to ensure safety measures and emergency preparedness protocols for all Rockwall ISD facilities align with best practices, state and local law enforcement requirements. Mr. Hillman has extensive training and experience in program management, investigation, threat assessment and mitigation, and risk and vulnerability assessments.
NEW School Safety and Security Committee
The committee is made up of school district and community partners that collaboratively provide recommendations to the district’s board of trustees and district administrators. Rockwall ISD did meet their policy and Texas Education Code 37.109, in fact Texas Education Code 37.109(a-1). The committee members hosted their first meeting on July 21, 2022 where they discussed the committee’s requirements and mandates. There was a second meeting that took place on October 20, 2022 and the next meeting will be held on April 20, 2023.
Keep in mind if you ever attend the public meeting you may not hear all the security details or campus vulnerabilities that are in progress of being repaired, updated or replaced. Texas state law does support certain discussions to be held during executive session such as deliberation regarding security devices or security audits (Sec. 551.076). It should be common sense why those deliberations are discussed in executive session–you don’t want to provide an invitation to target a campus.
2022 – 2023 School Safety and Security Committee Members
Lloyd Blaine
Rockwall ISD School Board Trustee Frank Conselman
John Donaldson
Rockwall ISD School Board President Linda Duran
Danny Garcia
Rockwall County Sheriff Terry Garrett
Director of Safety and Security Michael Hillman
Rockwall City Council Member Clarence Jorif
Rockwall ISD Patrick Just
Kiel Pankonien
Rockwall County Emergency Management Coordinator Jarrod Rosson
Rockwall ISD Dr. Kelvin Stroy
Rockwall ISD Superintendent Dr. John Villarreal
Donald Williams
New Security Guidelines In Effect
After careful review, many safety plans and procedures in place were enhanced. Plans were communicated to teachers and staff as part of the back-to-school training. The new security guidelines that are compliant with Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) that will be enforced:
• All exterior doors shall be closed and locked at all times. Exterior doors shall not be propped open.
• Exterior doors that need to be opened for any period of time will be physically monitored by a staff member.
• All classroom doors will remain locked at all times.
• No device shall be placed on any door, exterior or classroom, which would interfere with its normal closing and locking.
• Periodic checks will occur throughout the day by SROs, safety guards, and administrators to ensure doors are locked.
• Equipment/storage closets, electrical rooms, etc. shall be locked at all times.
• Teachers will not be allowed to share keys that are issued to them, including giving keys to students to unlock a door.
• Any door or door lock that becomes inoperative will immediately be reported to the Facilities Department and the Director of Safety and Security. Administrators will submit a work order and repairs will be a priority for immediate fix.
• Districtwide implementation of the Raptor Emergency Management System.
• Campus mandatory drills will be scheduled before the start of the school year in Raptor Drill Management.
• All visitors will access the building through the front entrance only, sign in through Raptor, and wear a name badge while on campus.
• Students shall not open or prop exterior doors to allow others access into the building. Students in violation will be assigned disciplinary consequences according to the Student Code of Conduct.
• All 7th through 12th grade students will be required to wear ID badges.
• Headwear, including hats, hoods, bandanas, caps, beanies, and head rags, are not permitted and must be removed before entering the building. Sunglasses are not to be worn inside the building. These items are subject to confiscation. Blankets are not permitted in the school building.
Standard Response Protocol
Rockwall ISD practices the state recommended Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed to respond to any situation with a common vocabulary known to local law enforcement. The SRP are action-based, planned and practiced by all schools in the District. All campus staff are trained in the “I Love U Guys” Standard Response Protocol, which was adopted by the Texas School Safety Center.
The Student Services Department developed a Standard Response Protocol video series that all Rockwall ISD employees completed by the first day of school. As part of the state’s requirement for all Texas schools, Rockwall ISD has complied with the mandatory safety protocol training of teachers and staff.
Director of Safety and Security Mike Hillman and Executive Director of Student Services Patrick Just have led SRP training with administrators, staff and teachers this passed summer. Hillman has also met and conducted safety walk-throughs of all campuses in coordination with campus administrators to review safety measures already in place and explore options for enhanced security measures, especially in the area of locked doors.
One thing was emphasized by the Student Services Department is on the locked doors and not propping them open.
In a recent interview with Rockwall ISD I asked a few questions:
1. With our partnership with local law enforcement and school resource officers has there been physical training for campus emergency preparedness situations in Rockwall ISD?
Rockwall ISD answered, “We regularly provide training space for the law enforcement agencies that serve our District. Law enforcement and our Rockwall ISD staff, including School Resource Officers, participate in tabletop exercises and in-person training for campus emergency preparedness situations.”
2. Has there been additional drills like active shooter or a school lockdown scenario added to all campuses for students and teachers? If so, are these types of drills exercised differently so that when they are explained to parents/guardians it could help avoid young students feeling traumatized.
Rockwall ISD answered, “Rockwall ISD and our local law enforcement partners follow the I Love You Guys Standard Response Protocols (SRP) as recommended by the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC). The lockdown drill is applicable for a wide range of emergency scenarios. The District will typically notify parents immediately after a drill has started. However, they will always try to notify parents before a drill if a large contingency of law enforcement will be present on campus to conduct a routine drill.”
They also said, “Rockwall ISD staff also utilizes the Raptor app as a communication tool for each of our safety protocols. The app differentiates between a drill and an actual event when notifying teachers and helps staff reassure students.”
3. If there is one thing to help improve our current safety enhancements that you would like parents/guardians to partner with their school campus to do what would that be?
Rockwall ISD shared, “We would encourage parents to speak to their children about threats of violence made on social media. Rockwall ISD responds to social media posts about violence or threats very seriously, as does our local law enforcement. Unfortunately, children often do not understand the severe consequences a social media post causes, both in school and with law enforcement.”
Rockwall ISD added, “We would also encourage parents and students to “see something, say something.” Often, individuals turn to social media to glean or “report” information about a possible event. If a parent or student sees or knows something that doesn’t seem right, please get in touch with the building principal or a central office administrator immediately instead of posting on social media, as time is of the essence. As always, the District Anonymous Tip Line is available on the District website www.rockwallisd.com or on the Rockwall ISD mobile app as a way to anonymously report information of concern. If using the Anonymous Tip Line to report a threat of harm to self or others, we ask that contact information be included so that we can reach out directly.”
Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility: Rockwall Safe
Communicating with parents during a time of safety is important to us all. The District utilizes e-mail, phone messages and social media to communicate their new branded title: Rockwall Safe. This should assist in identifying important safety messages quickly. If you have a student currently in Rockwall ISD please consider subscribing to the newsletter so that you don’t miss information.
21-question Survey To Meet State Leadership Goals for School Safety
On October 27, 2022, the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) released their report of a 21-question survey asking public K – 12th grade and charter district superintendents to certify districts completed the safety initiatives outlined by Governor Abbott in June. The goal of the action steps was for districts to enhance their safety and security posture prior to the start of the school year. All 1,205 Texas school districts responded to the survey. The Texas Education Agency will determine corrective actions for districts that indicated they were not able to complete one or more of the required actions. Due to the Governor’s response to School Safety this subject is far from over.
In fact, the 2023-2025 School Safety Standards Formula Grant are now open to receive applications for eligible districts that meet the requirements. The grant will allow spending on a variety of security-related items identified by the needs of each Law Enforcement Agency (LEA). The grant will allow for various costs associated with school safety and security; however, the grant will come with a requirement that money must first be spent on items necessary to comply with the rule. Once the standards of the rule are met, remaining funds can be spent on other eligible security-related costs as defined in the grant program allowable costs.
To Get This Right, Everyone Should Be Involved
Overall, I hope that this article gives you peace of mind that there are quite a number of people that are working together to keep students, teachers, substitutes, volunteers and staff safe. The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed to respond to any situation with a common vocabulary known to local law enforcement. The SRP are action-based, planned and practiced by all schools in the District. We have quite a number of competent experienced members that are serving on the School Safety and Security Committee. Hopefully, this will bring our community together that there is a plan in place and feel safer when you know what to do.