Kara Lee

On Aug. 21, the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) voted to be exempt from House Bill 3 (HB 3) in the Texas Legislature, a safety bill that states all campuses should have at least one armed security guard. HB 3 was signed by Governor Abbott earlier this summer and went into effect on Sept. 1. This bill was created in response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which took the lives of nineteen children and two teachers. 

The school board voted unanimously for an exemption to HB 3. SAISD’s police chief, Johnny Reyes, formally requested the exemption. 

“I’m very frustrated. I don’t understand how this is a tool for us as a government body it really served no purpose for us,” Reyes said.

Reyes included that the district’s police department is understaffed. As of now, 23 campuses have armed personnel.

There are currently 58 officers staffed, with 10 open positions. Even if all positions were filled, there still would not be enough officers to staff over 90 SAISD campuses because, according to the bill, some schools require more than one officer.

HB 3 states that any school district to claim an exemption must develop an alternative performance standard that the district will be able to abide by. An exemption would only last two years until the next legislative session. In other words, this is only a temporary way around the law.

SAISD should not be held responsible for not being able to have sufficient coverage across 90 campuses. Over-policing schools brings up concerns of having officers plastered everywhere. However,  SAISD should re-evaluate resources and funding to have better security across the district. What other resources or training can be brought in to better prepare the police staff that is currently there? Although over-policing schools may not be the solution, better training for the department overall would be a start to moving in a better direction.