The specifics
About 21,000 square feet of safety glass for exterior windows will be purchased, Brad Mansfield, MISD’s chief facilities & operations officer, said on June 25. The glass is not bulletproof or bullet-resistant, but it is designed to slow the entry of someone trying to break into the building, he said.
“You can't put enough rounds through [the safety glass] to where you can just shoot the glass out. ... It's still going to be three [to] six minutes of hacking away at one window to get in,” Superintendent Mark Ruffin said.
The context
The purchase goes above what the Texas Education Agency requires of school districts via House Bill 3, Mansfield said. As previously reported by Community Impact, HB 3:
- Became law Sept. 1 and was created during the 88th legislative session
- Granted Texas school districts $15,000 per campus and $10 per student for school safety initiatives
- Requires at least one armed security officer—such as a law enforcement officer, school marshal or teacher licensed to carry a handgun—on school campuses during regular school hours
