J.T. Patton, Friendswood ISD’s executive director of safety and operations, provided the board of directors an update during its July 18 meeting on the steps Friendswood ISD has taken this summer to ensure compliance with the Texas Education Agency’s new requirements for school safety in response to the Uvalde tragedy.
The TEA informed districts across the state June 30 of safety audit requirements to be completed before the start of the 2022-23 school year. Local educational agencies must complete a list of requirements intended to improve the level of safety at all Texas public schools, per the TEA notice. Agencies will then submit a survey confirming the requirements have been met to the Texas School Safety Center between Sept. 1-9.
FISD has begun these audits, Patton said, which will continue through the summer and into the school year through new procedures to ensure student safety.
Patton noted two significant measures underway at FISD campuses: a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit and an Exterior Door Safety Audit. Campuses will complete surveys on these audits by Aug. 19, Patton said.
During the Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit, Patton will meet with each campus’s administrators Aug. 1-5 to complete a 50-question safety audit laid out by the TEA. They will also review a 16-question “companion guide” with expanded safety considerations for further preparation for the school year.
“What we’ll do is sit down with principals and talk about those different components and help them build those out,” Patton said.
The Exterior Door Safety Audit intends to verify that each exterior door of instructional facilities both closes and locks. Inspections of every exterior door on instructional facilities are underway with some issues identified and addressed with a few gates and exterior doors, Patton mentioned. When the school year begins, the TEA will require the district to conduct exterior door sweeps at every instructional facility at least once per week while instruction is being conducted. However, the district plans to have its security monitors conduct these sweeps once per hour, and any issues found will be reported to campus administration immediately, Patton said.
The district is also encouraging a change in mindset regarding safety. Rather than assuming someone else will handle a safety concern, Patton said the district will focus on everyone taking more responsibility.
“We’re going to talk a lot about that this year and bang on that drum about the importance of [safety] being collective,” Patton said.
District staff and substitutes will receive training this summer on campus-specific safety measures. Mandatory safety drills will be held before the school year begins, which Patton noted the district has done for years. The district will also require increased documentation about how these safety drills went.
“I’m looking forward to that with the campuses to help them summarize general information they want to get out during, after or even before a lockdown,” Patton said. “It’s also going to help them shape how they train students.”
Additional safety measures to come include improved cell phone coverage throughout campuses, more card readers and security camera upgrades.
