Following the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the Fort Bend ISD administration has formed a safety advisory committee, FBISD Police Chief David Rider said.

The committee is composed of over 40 students, staff members, parents, security experts and other members of the community.

“The purpose of our committee is to research and reach consensus on ideas that can be added to the existing Safety and Security Master Plan to enhance security measures already in place,” said Debbie Dunlap, the committee’s co-chair and former FBISD educator.

The committee prioritizes crisis prevention and preparation before reaction, Rider said. Topics of discussion include:

• Creating a threat management program
• Designing an incident reporting tool for students and staff
• Using facial recognition software
• Enhancing training
• Allowing staff to arm themselves
• Hiring additional police personnel
• Mandating student identification badges
• Establishing a centralized operations center to gather intelligence and receive incident reports
• Installing door locks, fencing and metal detectors at campuses

“We also need to keep in mind: No single security measure is going to solve all of the things we want to accomplish,” Rider said. “These are the topics we’ve identified, and over the next couple of meetings—we have four meetings left—we will come to consensus on those and prioritize and bring back recommendations [to the board].”

Board President Jason Burdine said he supports the implementation of more proactive measures.

"When a shooter enters our building, we've already lost," Burdine said. "Whatever we can do—whether it be optics, whether it be mental health—whatever it is, we will support whatever we need to do because safety is first. That is the priority to all of us."