How Central Texas school districts are prepping for new TEA guidelines

MARLIN, Texas (KWTX) – Marlin ISD students returned to the classroom Wednesday for the first day of school.

In the weeks leading up to the first day, the district was busy getting classrooms ready to align with the Texas Education Agency’s new school safety guidelines.

Under TEA’s new requirements schools must conduct an exterior door audit before school starts, have two safety training sessions with staff before school starts and have weekly exterior door checks once school starts.

“Throughout the summertime we work with our police department to ensure that all exterior doors meet the standard for our safety audit,” superintendent Darryl Henson said.

The first day of school is still weeks away for Waco ISD, but the district is already training all staff, including substitutes.

“We have already added the safety trainings to our onboarding with our HR department as far as new teachers and subs,” said Suzanne Hamilton, Waco ISD executive director for student services.

For both Waco ISD and Marlin ISD these new requirements are things they were already doing.

Henson said him and his staff will start checking exterior doors more than just once a week. Meanwhile Waco ISD is adding information on protocols for all drills on the back of staff’s ID badges.

In an email to KWTX News 10 Temple ISD said the district’s exterior door audit is complete. TISD is working to resolve any issues with exterior doors, including replacing malfunctioning locks before school starts.

TISD protocols beyond TEA’s requirements include relabeling all school entrances to provide easy access in case of an emergency and offering Temple PD active shooter trainings at each campus over the coming days.

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