The district launched a school marshal program following the passage of House Bill 3 in 2023. The school safety legislation requires public school districts to have at least one armed security officer at each campus.
“We often say that safety and security is our top priority,” Superintendent Devin Padavil said at the Sept. 15 meeting. “This shows that we’re serious about it.”
What you need to know
GISD has a school marshal at each of its 11 elementary campuses as well as the Future Ready Complex and Georgetown Alternative Program. The role of school marshals is to prevent serious bodily injury or murder on school premises, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
The district’s school marshals have military, law enforcement or security experience and were hired in collaboration with the Georgetown Police Department, said Wes Vanicek, GISD chief of construction services and future readiness initiatives.
To become a school marshal, employees must receive two weeks of training from TCOLE, and undergo a psychological evaluation and extensive background check, according to GISD information. School marshals receive training alongside the district’s school resource officers and other first responders in Williamson County, Vanicek said.
The district has seven school resource officers employed by the Georgetown Police Department at its four middle schools and two high school campuses, said Melinda Brasher, executive director for communications and community engagement.
The background
Texas school districts have been required to staff an armed security guard on each campus since Sept. 1, 2023, under HB 3. The bill's author, Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said HB 3's armed officer requirement aims to increase school security and “reduce confusion in the midst of a crisis,” such as an active shooter situation.
HB 3 defines an armed security officer as a police officer that is employed by a district police department or contracted through a local law enforcement agency.
Districts may claim a good cause exception if they cannot comply with this requirement due to funding issues or a lack of personnel, according to the bill. The exception allows districts to hire school marshals or school district employees with a license to carry, known as school guardians.
Also of note
HB 3 also required districts to make safety and security upgrades to their facilities.
All GISD campuses now have secure vestibules and buzz-in entries, said Stacie Seveska, GISD director of student and campus services and Title IX. Other campus upgrades include fencing, active monitoring and reinforced glass to prevent any outside intruders from entering.
Campuses complete monthly fire drills and four lockdown drills each school year. The district is now starting to conduct a systems check during two of its yearly lockdown drills, including testing 911 calls and radios as well as practicing scenarios, Seveska said.
This school year, the district will begin notifying parents before providing the “See Something, Say Something” training for students on the district’s anonymous reporting system.
Zooming out
Texas lawmakers made several changes to school safety requirements during the 2025 legislative session.
HB 6 gives public school teachers more discretion to remove students from the classroom if they are repeatedly disruptive or threaten the safety of others, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The law allows schools to suspend students of any age who engage in “repeated or significant” disruptions, reversing a 2017 state law that generally prohibited schools from suspending students in pre-K through second grade. If students in kindergarten through third grade are sent home for behavioral issues, schools must provide documentation explaining their decision, according to the bill.
Under HB 33, GISD must house a ballistic shield and breaching tool at each campus and participate in annual trainings with Williamson County, Vanciek said.
Additionally, GISD is in compliance with Senate Bill 838, Vanicek said. The legislation, which passed in 2023, requires districts to have silent panic alarm technology in every classroom, he said.
Hannah Norton contributed to this article.
