The district’s board of trustees approved the interlocal agreement during a Sept. 25 board meeting. The agreement will allow MISD and the city of Grand Prairie to pool its resources in acquiring evaluation services for district employees, such as school marshals, who are authorized to carry a firearm.
The backstory
The McKinney Police Department provides 16 school resource officers to the district, according to the district's website.
According to House Bill 3, which went into effect Sept. 1, a qualifying armed officer must be on campus during regular school hours. This could be a school resource officer, but it could also be a school marshal or a private security officer.
As part of a multilayered approach to school safety, district officials hired former law enforcement officers to act as school marshals and hired licensed security officers to meet the state requirement.
The board of trustees passed an exception to allow for the implementation of the mixed strategy at its Aug. 14 meeting.
Explained
School marshals hired by a school district must pass a psychological exam, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
There is no cost for the district to participate in the agreement. The participation is meant to expand purchasing options for the district and should result in cost savings, the agenda stated.
