Starting Tuesday, Collin College, along with other community colleges across the state, will permit licensed gun owners to carry concealed firearms in certain campus buildings. Four-year schools implemented the state policy last year. Senate Bill 11, which was passed in the 84th Legislative Session in 2015, required the state’s public colleges and universities to allow handguns on campuses for those with license to carry. Collin College board of trustees approved a new board policy on June 27 that describes the guidelines the college will use to implement the new regulations. “Collin College and the board of trustees have worked diligently to ensure a safe environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors, while also respecting the rights of people who are licensed to carry a handgun,” Collin College President Neil Matkin said in a news release. “We believe that the commonsense measures put in place by this policy are the best way to satisfy state law and maintain campuses where our students, staff and faculty feel safe.” According to the college, licensed gun holders may carry a handgun wholly concealed on or about their person, or in a locked, privately owned or leased vehicle while on Collin College campuses. People carrying handguns must have a valid license to carry and must not be intoxicated, under the influence of illegal drugs, or taking prescription drugs that impair judgement or physical abilities. According the new policies, handguns are prohibited in the following locations:
  • Child-care facilities
  • College facilities that are used as early voting or election day polling locations
  • Rooms where governmental entity is meeting, if the meeting is an open meeting subject to Texas Government Code Chapter 551
  • High hazard laboratories and health science education facilities
  • A designated meeting room at each campus in Student and Enrollment Services that can be used, as needed, for disciplinary meetings or counseling meetings
  • Facilities where professional, high school, college sporting or other interscholastic events are in progress
  • Locker rooms where individuals change clothes, including those at athletic facilities
The policy also states that the college can make any location or facility of the college a temporary exclusion zone, as directed or approved by the district president as necessary for campus safety. The college is required to submit a report every two years to the state legislature regarding the college’s policy and the reasons the college has established its rules.