No, Birdville ISD isn’t arming teachers. Here’s what they’re actually considering.
The Birdville school district doesn’t want to arm teachers, but that’s what a lot of people thought when they read a board of education agenda item for the Thursday meeting to discuss allowing “district employee” to carry a gun.
“Propose authorizing possession of firearms by district employee,” was the full description in the agenda. But board members and Associate Superintendent Skip Baskerville said what they really want to do is pick up sponsorship of a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement license for a three-year employee of the district who has 42 years experience in law enforcement, now working security for the district.
TCOLE is the state agency that regulates peace officers throughout Texas. A license from TCOLE is required for any person to work as a police officer. For the license to be valid, the licensee has to have a law enforcement agency sponsoring them.
While the Birdville school district doesn’t have an official district police department, new rules allow them to be the agency sponsoring the license.
Because they don’t have a district police department and the employee no longer works for a municipal police department, he isn’t considered a school resource officer. But Baskerville said that’s what he would compare the employee’s duties to.
The employee, who was not identified due to state law regarding privacy of personnel, had a license but needs a new sponsor after the police department he worked for before he joined the district decided to stop sponsoring him, Baskerville said. The license expired a couple months ago.
The employee didn’t do anything wrong, the associate superintendent told the board. The sponsoring police department, which also wasn’t identified, didn’t want to retain the liability that comes with having its name associated with his license since he isn’t employed there.
The item was only introduced to the board for discussion on Thursday and trustees were not allowed to make any decisions at the meeting. It will come up at a later, as yet unspecified date for a vote.
If approved, the employee would have to undergo at least 40 hours of re-certification training, including sensitivity training pertaining to race and culture. The employee already has 42 years worth of training in law enforcement and weapons handling and proficiency, Baskerville said.
The agenda item caused concern on social media and among a couple of parents who attended the meeting after the wording led them to believe the district would be looking to arm teachers.
Richard Davis, the president of the school board, and trustee Joe Tolbert said the fear that the district was trying to arm teachers was exacerbated by misleading posts on social media saying the district wanted to give its instructors the authorization to carry firearms.
Some on Twitter said the agenda should have been clearer as to what the board would be discussing.
Board members also assured the public that the discussion was planned before this week and the agenda was approved and posted on Monday, a day before a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.
Early in the meeting, board members called on attendees to take a moment of silence for the victims and their families and community. Tolbert said the board members and the Birdville ISD community were mourning the loss of life.