Lake Travis ISD increases security measures amid new state law
The district has grown its police force and added security booths to Lake Travis High School amid a new school safety law. The law requires districts to have an armed security guard at every campus.
The overview
The Lake Travis ISD Police Department has been fully staffed with 14 officers since October when it hired two additional officers, said Marco Alvarado, LTISD executive director of communications and community relations.
On Nov. 27, the district opened two security houses at Lake Travis High School entrances at Spillman Loop and Cavalier Drive, according to a letter from district administration. Visiting drivers must share valid identification and their reason for visiting while must have a dismissal pass or an appropriate sticker on their identification badge before passing through.
Lake Travis ISD proposes library policy increasing parental involvement
Parents in Lake Travis ISD may have more influence over what their children read at school under a new library policy.
Two-minute impact
Lake Travis ISD officials proposed a new library policy at a Nov. 15 board of trustees meeting recognizing a parent’s role in selecting their students’ books and banning harmful or obscene material.
Under the new policy, the district would increase transparency and access for parents and community members by allowing them to review library materials and take part in “library acquisition, maintenance and campus activities,” according to the policy draft.
Lake Travis ISD community outraged over student’s peanut allergy attack, district response
A mother in Lake Travis ISD said two students knowingly endangered her son with a severe peanut allergy by planting peanuts in his belongings. Community members have expressed frustration and outrage over the district’s response to the incident.
What happened
LTISD parent Shawna Mannon said her son Carter broke out into hives after two of his teammates on the Lake Travis High School varsity football team placed peanuts in his athletic locker, cleats and uniform. The incident took place after the students learned her son had a life-threatening peanut allergy, she said at a Nov. 15 board of trustees meeting.
A district official confirmed that two high school students placed peanut products on the student's belongings but said the district could not provide further details. In a letter to parents, Superintendent Paul Norton said district administrators applied consequences following the incident but could not share how students were punished due to federal privacy laws that protect minors.
Several community members and food allergy advocates spoke at the Nov. 15 board meeting to express their disdain over the district’s response and concerns for students’ safety.
