After receiving administrative approval from district staff, Friendswood ISD’s board of trustees approved the district’s multihazard emergency operations plan at its Nov. 11 meeting.

The big picture

Each year, FISD reviews, updates and submits the district emergency operations plan, or EOP, to the state via the Texas School Safety Center, according to district agenda documents.

Superintendent Thad Roher said at the meeting the main changes made this year in the EOP were the additions of armed auxiliary officers.

These officers were hired through TABI, a company that provides TCOLE—or Texas Commission on Law Enforcement—certified and trained law enforcement officers to both public and private school districts across the state, according to district documents.

The purpose of the plan is “to educate and inform the district on what to do before, during and after an incident by outlining the responsibilities and duties of administrators, faculty, staff, substitute teachers, students, response agencies and the community,” according to EOP documents.

The plan is reviewed and constructed in partnership with the Friendswood Police Department and Office of Emergency Management, according to district documents.

Diving in deeper

Overall, there were two significant changes made throughout 2024 by the district’s safety and security committee, according to the EOP.

According to the EOP, the following changes were made in 2024:

• After approval by the board of armed auxiliary officers, the district’s committee reviewed and provided key feedback to recommend law enforcement officers to be on school campuses during the school day in the 2024-25 school year. This change was added to the EOP on March 7.
• The committee added specific procedures in the Hurricane Action Plan to strengthen communication and role responsibilities. The committee reviewed the FISD Crisis Management Guide and provided additional feedback on after-action review processes during emergencies. This change was added to the EOP on June 5.

The safety and security committee provides their boards of trustees with recommendations for updates to their districts’ emergency operations plans, and must include law enforcement, emergency management officials, school board members, teachers and administrators, documents show.

One more thing

Each administrator at every campus for FISD received at least two copies of the EOP. The city of Friendswood also received a copy of the EOP, according to district documents.

Now that the board has approved the 2024-25 EOP, it will be submitted to the Texas Education Agency for approval, Roher said at the meeting.