Trustee Mari Salmi was the single dissenting vote.
How we got here
The board of trustees moved to implement a school marshal program back in April following another 6-1 vote.
What is a school marshal?
House Bill 1009, passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature in 2013, allows public school districts and open enrollment charter schools to appoint school marshals to “prevent the act of murder or serious bodily injury on school premises.”
A school marshal's identity is confidential, and they carry a concealed handgun.
To be certified by Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and eligible for appointment as a school marshal, applicants must:
- Be employed and appointed by an authorized district
- Pass a psychological exam and a written state exam
- Complete TCOLE’s training program
- Have a current handgun license
Some of the regulations governing San Marcos CISD school marshal’s outlined in the board documents approved by the board are as follows:
- May make arrests and exercise all authority given to peace officers under Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 2.127, Code of Criminal Procedure, but only to the extent necessary to prevent or abate the commission of an offense that threatens serious bodily injury or death of students, faculty or visitors on school premises, provided, however, a San Marcos CISD school marshal may not issue a traffic citation for a violation of Chapter 521, Transportation Code, or Subtitle C, Title 7 Transportation Code
- May access a handgun only under circumstances that would justify the use of deadly force under Section 9.32 or 9.33 of the Penal Code
- May carry an approved gun so long as it is in compliance with legal requirements for a licensed handgun carrier
- Must use commercially produced holsters that provide “adequate” retention to secure firearms
- Any approved handgun carried by or within access of a San Marcos CISD school must be loaded only with frangible ammunition designed to disintegrate on impact for maximum safety and minimal danger to others. Frangible ammunition must be approved by the director of safety.
Salmi thought the second guideline listed allowing for a school marshal to carry a concealed weapon on any school premise and at any SMCISD school function was in opposition to the plan in which the board and the public were presented with.
“I want to make it known that it was my impression that we were shown that there would be a school marshal at our elementary schools because we have SROs and we hire designated and marked security officers for other events,” Salmi said.
Director of School Safety Doug Wozniak explained that the reason for not designating a specific campus is because a school marshal could respond at another campus, and doing so would limit their scope of power.
Salmi also said she was “very opposed” to having individuals with concealed weapons at sporting events.
Board President Anne Halsey said she was in favor of the language as written but agreed with Salmi regarding the marshals campus assignment.
“I would really like us to be as focused as possible in the assignment of duties to the marshals. I really expect that those people, 99% of their time, will be spent on the campus that they are assigned to,” Halsey said.
