Santa Fe ISD Guardian Program Approved

[WildBill]

After Spring Break, Santa Fe ISD is rolling out a new "Guardian program" that allows certain people to carry a weapon on district property.

* Employees who are currently licensed to carry a weapon in the State of Texas are eligible
to volunteer and apply to be considered for the Guardian Program.

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

https://abc13.com/5991916/

[puma guy]

After Spring Break, Santa Fe ISD is rolling out a new "Guardian program" that allows certain people to carry a weapon on district property.

* Employees who are currently licensed to carry a weapon in the State of Texas are eligible
to volunteer and apply to be considered for the Guardian Program.

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

https://abc13.com/5991916/

[03Lightningrocks]

After Spring Break, Santa Fe ISD is rolling out a new "Guardian program" that allows certain people to carry a weapon on district property.

* Employees who are currently licensed to carry a weapon in the State of Texas are eligible
to volunteer and apply to be considered for the Guardian Program.

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

https://abc13.com/5991916/

It is a good start but considering they are utilizing LTC carriers only, hasn't there already been an extensive background check. Why is a second one needed?

[WildBill]

After Spring Break, Santa Fe ISD is rolling out a new "Guardian program" that allows certain people to carry a weapon on district property.

* Employees who are currently licensed to carry a weapon in the State of Texas are eligible
to volunteer and apply to be considered for the Guardian Program.

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

https://abc13.com/5991916/

It is a good start but considering they are utilizing LTC carriers only, hasn't there already been an extensive background check. Why is a second one needed?

It's possible the reporter doesn't know that LTC requires a background check. Also LEO, candidates have a background check that covers more than just
a criminal record check.

[03Lightningrocks]

After Spring Break, Santa Fe ISD is rolling out a new "Guardian program" that allows certain people to carry a weapon on district property.

* Employees who are currently licensed to carry a weapon in the State of Texas are eligible
to volunteer and apply to be considered for the Guardian Program.

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

https://abc13.com/5991916/

It is a good start but considering they are utilizing LTC carriers only, hasn't there already been an extensive background check. Why is a second one needed?

It's possible the reporter doesn't know that LTC requires a background check. Also LEO, candidates have a background check that covers more than just
a criminal record check.

Yeah, I did not zero in on the "leo" part of it.

[Texas_Blaze]

It’s a shame that schools wait until they have blood in the halls to take these types of actions. There are no lessons learned by other districts.

[philip964]

A good start, let’s keep it up.

[srothstein]

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

Maybe I am the only one that caught this and said there is a problem here. There is no such thing as a process or standard for psychological testing for police officers in Texas.

Texas requires that every applicant for police officer (other than elected officials) must take a psychological exam. There are no directions for what form the exam should take or what a passing grade is. I sort of misspoke above because the standard or requirement for officers is that a licensed psychologist sign a form saying the person is fit to be a police officer. As far as I know, there is no guidance in the law or in TCOLE regulations on how the doctor is supposed to come to this conclusion. Every department can make their own standards for this.

And yes, I have a problem with this standard for police officers, but it is even a bigger problem when the school says they will use the same standards.

[WildBill]

* The selection process will require criminal background screening, as well as psychological evaluations utilizing the same process
and standards as police officer applicants.

Maybe I am the only one that caught this and said there is a problem here. There is no such thing as a process or standard for psychological testing for police officers in Texas.

Texas requires that every applicant for police officer (other than elected officials) must take a psychological exam. There are no directions for what form the exam should take or what a passing grade is. I sort of misspoke above because the standard or requirement for officers is that a licensed psychologist sign a form saying the person is fit to be a police officer. As far as I know, there is no guidance in the law or in TCOLE regulations on how the doctor is supposed to come to this conclusion. Every department can make their own standards for this.

And yes, I have a problem with this standard for police officers, but it is even a bigger problem when the school says they will use the same standards.

Since this is for the Santa Fe ISD, I would think the Santa Fe PD could do the same testing and us the same standards as their current officers.

[ELB]

The article states that over 300 Texas schools have implemented the Guardian program. I suspect that number may actually include both Guardian and School Marshal programs.

In any case there are 1035 Texas school districts, as near as I can tell, and this number probably includes charter schools. With 300(+) schools using a Guardian program that means at least 29% of Texas schools have approved armed non-leo staff.

[Odiferous]

...it is even a bigger problem when the school says they will use the same standards.

That's how the Guardian program works. The districts get to decide how restrictive they want to be.

Remember that the default state is for no one in the school to be carrying. Everyone wants to protect the kids, but from the perspective of the district's liability and PR, there's a world of difference between not appointing enough Guardians (i.e. there doesn't happen to be one close enough when needed) and appointing the wrong one.

I'd put the same language in if I were on a board. It's there to make the parents feel comfortable with who we're deciding to let carry, and it's cover for letting us choose not to approve the fools who won't keep quiet or won't keep their hands off it.

[troglodyte]

The article states that over 300 Texas schools have implemented the Guardian program. I suspect that number may actually include both Guardian and School Marshal programs.

In any case there are 1035 Texas school districts, as near as I can tell, and this number probably includes charter schools. With 300(+) schools using a Guardian program that means at least 29% of Texas schools have approved armed non-leo staff.

The numbers may or may not also include private schools. There are at least two private schools in Lubbock that have he Guardian program. I'm not sure where the numbers in the article are coming from.

The article also mentions that the Guardians will have 40 hours of comprehensive training and will roll out after spring break. I wonder when the 40 hours of training took/is taking place and what it covers? Are the teachers giving up their spring break? Did they do it over 5 Saturdays? 2 hours after work for a month? Over the summer? I don't have a problem with the 40 hours, I am just curious as to how they did it.