What’s happening?
The Guardian Program—which is made up of former and retired peace officers—is a pre-existing program that Precinct 4 will be implementing at TISD for the first time. A timeline has not yet been announced for this program to launch at TISD.
According to the news release:
- The purpose of launching the Guardian Program at TISD is to “supplement campus police coverage.”
- These officers have “the same training requirements and standards as full-time peace officers.”
Put in perspective
This program expansion in TISD comes in the wake of the district’s Jan. 10 agreement with the constable’s office to supply officers to the district’s police force, as previously reported by Community Impact. The Precinct 4 constable's office began supplementing officers at campuses in the spring, following the termination of a contract between Tomball ISD and the city of Tomball to provide school resource officers.
On June 14, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3 into law, requiring at least one armed security officer to be on all public school campuses during regular school hours.
- Precinct 4 is providing 20 deputies for the start of the 2023-24 school year, Community Impact reported.
- Twenty-nine Precinct 4 constable’s office deputies will be expected to start patrolling the district beginning Oct. 1, according to TISD Chief Operating Officer Steven Gutierrez.
Quote of note
“We, as law enforcement, have the obligation to do everything we can to make a difference and help ensure the safety of our kids is our No. 1 priority. We are proud to announce the Guardian Program, and we look forward to playing a significant role in safeguarding our future generation,” Constable Mark Herman said in the news release.
What's next?
TISD trustees have an item on their Aug. 8 agenda to discuss the district's law enforcement contract with Harris County. This story will be updated with more details after the meeting.
In other news
TISD will not be the only school district to welcome Precinct 4 deputies into its schools, Herman announced during an Aug. 2 press conference. About 400 deputies were assigned to patrol Spring ISD, Klein ISD, Cy-Fair ISD, Humble ISD and Aldine ISD for the 2023-24 school year, Herman said, which is 70 more deputies than in the previous school year.
“We all understand that the ISD police chiefs cannot do it alone,” Herman said. “We cannot do it alone. We all have to do this together.”
Precinct 4 constable’s office and local school district police prepared for the 2023-24 school year by:
- Taking additional safety training, including active shooter training
- Installing silent panic alert buttons in classrooms as mandated by Senate Bill 838, which passed during the 88th Legislature, as previously reported by Community Impact
- Testing radio signals within schools for emergency communication
- Studying blueprints of schools within the six school districts in Precinct 4's boundaries
