8 August 24 - 30, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ceremonial signing of the bills in Fort Worth on August 2. “And Texas law enforcement needs new tools to curb illegal street racers whose activities threaten the very safety of everyone around them.” ▼ SCHOOL SAFETY GUARDS, GUNS AND GRADES DALLAS ISD CHALLENGED BY NEW ARMED SECURITY MEASURES. BY SIMONE CARTER L ast Monday marked the first day of school for roughly a dozen North Texas districts, including Dallas ISD. Student and teacher safety is a top concern this school year, but some district leaders have reported that they’re having difficulty meeting the re- quirements laid out in a new state law. House Bill 3 by state Rep. Dustin Bur- rows, a Lubbock Republican, mandates that each campus must have at least one armed security officer. The law appears to have been passed in response to last year’s Uvalde massacre, during which 19 Robb Elemen- tary School students and two teachers were fatally shot. Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said during a recent press confer- ence that the district still has work to do be- fore the law takes effect next month. “We are not going to have 167 additional officers available at every single one of our schools on Sept. 1,” she said. “The feasibility of that is not possible.” Some of Texas’ largest districts will be hardest hit by HB 3, Rena Honea, president of Dallas’ Alliance/AFT teachers union, told the Observer. Coming up with the funds to meet the mandate will be tough for many, she said; the state is contributing only “a minimal amount of money” to help. “Money is an issue, and having the avail- able workers willing to do the work is an- other issue that they’ve come [up] against,” she said. “And I think you’ll find that in a lot of the districts around the state, even the ru- ral districts.” But, Honea said, teachers are focused on offering a high-quality education to their students. “We’re all in this for the kids,” she said. “How we get there usually is the point of contention, but finding ways that we can make it the best experience possible for ev- ery student that walks in our doors is the goal of every educator.” Dallas ISD Dallas ISD, Texas’ second-largest dis- trict, opened its doors to some 140,000 stu- dents last week. As a result of HB 3, the district’s school board will be asked to green-light an alter- nate plan, Elizalde said in a news release just before the school year began. “We will begin by deploying many of our officers who are in supervisory roles, which means they’re going to take on some addi- tional responsibilities,” she said. The district will work to recruit police of- ficers during the first year of implementation. It will also seek Level III security officers — armed security personnel who have finished required training and passed a background check and psychological evaluation. Dallas ISD’s secondary schools already have officers, but now the district will need to provide for its elementary campuses. The district is also introducing new tech this year that lets parents easily track their kids’ school buses. Guardians can keep tabs on the location of the bus on its route and whether it has encountered traffic or an- other kind of delay. Another safety-focused rule: All Dallas ISD students must carry a clear backpack this school year, although mesh bags are al- lowed. Mesquite ISD Mesquite ISD has also adopted a clear backpack policy. Proponents argue that the measure will discourage students from car- rying firearms onto campus, although it’s had plenty of critics. Officials in Mesquite recently credited the clear backpack requirement with help- ing to uncover a gun brought by a student. On Mesquite ISD’s first day of school, a 17-year-old high school student was argu- mentative about putting away his non-clear backpack, according to The Dallas Heather Mount/ Unsplash The Uvalde school shooting in May 2022 inspired legislative changes this year. Unfair Park from p6 >> p10
