Conroe ISD Chief of Police Matthew Blakelock is pushing to get more school resource officers for every campus in the district under House Bill 3.

The setup

Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 3 into law June 14, which requires at least one armed security officer to be on all public school campuses during regular school hours. Under the law, a district's board of trustees determines how to provide security at school campuses, including options such as:
  • Employing or contracting with security personnel
  • Entering a memorandum of understanding with outside law enforcement jurisdictions for school resource officers
  • Contracting with a security services contractor for commissioned security officers
  • Commissioning peace officers (district police officers)
As HB 3 states, if a board is unable to comply with the requirements due to a lack of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as security officers, then it must choose an alternative standard, which includes a:
  • School marshal
  • Guardian who is authorized to carry a firearm
  • Commissioned security officer who has level two or three training through Texas Department of Public Safety
The approach

During a board presentation Aug. 1, Blakelock said he recommends keeping the CISD standard and hiring more CISD police officers as the best option for safety and security because:
  • They are highly trained and vetted.
  • There is limited availability of police officers from outside entities.
  • It would cost more to hire full-time or off-duty police officers from the county or sheriff's department.
  • Marshals and guardians would receive limited training and are required to store the firearm while in the classroom.
What they’re saying

“Our officers have the rifles, the handguns, the shields and the body armor,” Blakelock said. “They have an immense amount of training to back them up, and it's instilled in them every single day what their role is, and the expectation is that they are there to stop threats and act immediately. I know there are plenty of people that would love to help and take on that role. That's something that could be put in place fast on our campuses, but when we are talking about school safety and security, we shouldn't talk about fast or cheap. We should talk about the best option, and the best option is a Conroe ISD police officer."


Blakelock said CISD police officers are required to undergo:
  • 720 hours of police academy training
  • 80 hours of classroom and tactical training upon being hired
  • 40 hours of defensive tactics and crisis intervention
  • 14 weeks of field training
CISD officers are also trained and equipped with body armor, a firearm, a rifle, a shield and breaching tools.

What's next

Blakelock said as the law is written, without contrary guidance from the state, the district meets the requirements from HB 3. However, he said many terms are undefined or left for broad interpretation.

The Texas Education Agency is expected to give a presentation Aug. 26 to provide more information to school districts in Texas. HB 3 will become law Sept. 1.


Items worth mentioning

At the end of the presentation, Blakelock said he has offered employment to three police officers in the last week and will be offering employment to four more officers in the next two weeks.