Which Tarrant County school districts allow teachers to carry a gun in the classroom?
It’s been nearly five months since a shooter gunned down 19 children and two adults at a Uvalde elementary school.
To make classrooms safer, North Texas school districts at the beginning of the school year implemented measures like safety audits, security cameras and lockdown drills. The deadliest school shooting in Texas also prompted debate about whether Texas teachers should be armed.
“We can’t stop bad people from doing bad things,” Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News at the time. “We can potentially arm and prepare and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly. That, in my opinion, is the best answer.”
But how many school districts agree? The Star-Telegram asked Tarrant County school districts whether they allow employees to carry firearms on school premises. Here’s what they said.
Do Texas schools allow teachers to carry guns?
A whopping 514 of the 1,023 independent school districts in Texas allow employees to carry firearms on school premises, according to the latest numbers from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the Texas Association of School Boards.
In 2013, following concerns about school safety after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Texas Legislature passed two methods to authorize employees to carry firearms on school property. Texas school districts are able to opt into: the Guardian Plan and the School Marshal Program.
The School Marshal Program allows marshals designated by a district to be armed. Since 2013, Texas law has permitted school districts to appoint one or more specially trained and licensed employees as school marshals. Those school marshals can carry a handgun on the school premises after 80 hours of training. School marshals are restricted from carrying concealed firearms if they’re in regular contact with the students. In that case, the marshal can have a gun in a safe at the school. Schools can appoint one marshal per 100 students in average daily attendance, or for a private school, one marshal per 100 students enrolled.
“The board must require that a designated school marshal may carry a concealed handgun on the marshal’s person or in a locked and secured location on the physical premises of a school,” says the Texas Association of School Boards. “A school marshal may access a handgun only under circumstances that would justify the use of deadly force for the safety or protection of others as provided by law, and the marshal may use only frangible duty ammunition approved for the purpose by [Texas Commission on Law Enforcement].”
The Guardian Plan is broader, authorizing school boards to allow any employee to be armed, under the authority of the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act and the Texas Penal Code. Those employees, after completing 16 hours of training, may carry a concealed firearm in the presence of students.
“In most cases, school districts limit employee authorization to commissioned peace officers. In some districts, however, authorization has been granted to other school officials or even classroom teachers,” a TASB report says. “While state and federal law gives school districts broad discretion to authorize the possession of firearms and other weapons on school premises, granting such authority brings a host of practical concerns, including safety and liability.”
A Texas school district has the option to appoint one or more armed school marshals, adopt a local policy that authorizes employees to carry firearms on school premises, or both, according to the TASB.
Fewer districts have chosen the School Marshal Program, though the number has grown this year. There are currently 69 school districts participating in the School Marshal Program, up from 62 in May, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement told the Star-Telegram. The program has licensed 290 school marshals. And 445 school districts have adopted the Guardian Plan, the Texas Association of School Boards said in a statement, a striking increase compared to the 303 districts reported in 2018.
“I would suspect that the trend would continue,” said Kirk Evans, attorney and president of U.S. LawShield. “If we saw suddenly accidental discharges or students getting a hold of guns in schools and things like that, I think you might have some districts reconsider it, but we certainly have not seen that yet.”
Which Tarrant County school districts arm employees?
We asked each school district whether they opted into the Guardian Plan or the School Marshal Program. Only two of the districts, Godley ISD and White Settlement ISD, said they implemented the Guardian Plan. None said they implemented the School Marshal Program.
Several said they had their own police departments. There are currently 324 Texas school districts with their own police departments, employing a total of 3,676 officers, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement said. That’s up from 309 Texas school districts with their own police departments in May, employing a total of 3,434 officers.
Aledo ISD — No we have not opted into either program; Aledo ISD has its own police department.
Arlington ISD — No, we don’t participate in either.
Azle ISD — Azle ISD has not opted into the Guardian Plan or School Marshal Program. Azle ISD has a District Police Department and contracts with the City of Azle Police Department for School Resources Officers. Each of our campuses has a licensed police officer on site. More details can be found at https://www.azleisd.net/safetyprotocols.
Birdville ISD — Birdville ISD has not opted into either program.
Burleson ISD — No response at the time of publication.
Carroll ISD — Has not implemented the Guardian Plan or the School Marshal Program.
Castleberry ISD — No, Castleberry ISD has not.
Crowley ISD — Crowley ISD has not opted into these programs.
Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD — No. In EMS ISD, we have our own police department.
Everman ISD — Everman ISD has not opted into either program.
Fort Worth ISD — No, per our Safety and Security Department.
Godley ISD — Godley ISD implemented the Guardian Plan in August 2021. The purpose is to improve campus security especially in the event of an active shooter event. The program has been well received.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD — GCISD does not participate in either of these programs.
Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD — We have not opted into either program
Keller ISD — No, we have not opted into either.
Kennedale ISD — We have not opted into either.
Lake Worth ISD — Lake Worth ISD has not opted into either program.
Mansfield ISD — No response at the time of publication.
Northwest ISD — No, we have not opted into either program.
White Settlement ISD — Our school district implemented the Guardian Plan in May 2020. Our school board adopted the Guardian program to create an even safer environment for our students and staff, and our community has been overwhelmingly supportive of the decision. We continue to give our staff members the opportunity to apply for the program, expanding it over the past three years. Our Guardian-certified WSISD police officers provide regular training for our Guardians, who work in collaboration with our police department to support our safety and security initiatives.
What rules do armed teachers have to follow?
According to Evans, armed teachers in Texas have to abide by the following rules:
- Carry by teachers is permitted only with written authorization or written procedures — verbal, implied or informal permission is not allowable.
- Even with written permission, teachers carrying without a Texas License to Carry will be in violation of the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act.
- If written permission or regulations are provided, teachers must follow those directives (e.g., If the regulations say all handguns must be concealed, then they must be concealed.)
- Teachers cannot be authorized to carry at interscholastic activities, such as sporting events.
- All the normal carry and self-defense laws still apply:
- You cannot display the weapon “in a manner calculated to alarm,” unless legally justified.
- You cannot point, threaten to use or discharge the firearm unless legally justified under Texas law.
- Negligence laws still apply. If you have an accidental discharge and injure someone, you can be sued or even charged with criminal negligence.
- Texas law provides severe penalties for allowing children to access firearms.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 8:34 AM.
