Center for Safe Communities & Schools
Texas School Safety Center
The Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) was created in 1999 by then Governor George Bush and authorized by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001 to serve as a central location for school safety information, and to provide schools with research, training, and technical assistance to reduce youth violence and promote safety in the state. TxSSC is charged to conduct safety training that includes: development of a positive school environment and proactive safety measures to address local concerns, school safety courses for law enforcement officials, assistance for districts in developing a multi-hazard emergency operations plan, security criteria for instructional facilities, and a model safety and security audit procedure for the state. The center also collects school safety data for the state and provides a report to the public.
District Audit Report
COMPLETED YOUR DISTRICT SAFETY AND SECURITY AUDITS?
WHAT NEXT?
The Texas Education code has been amended to require school districts to report the results of their security audits under 37.108b not only to their school board, but also to the Texas School Safety Center in the manner required by the center:
37.108(c), Education Code, to require a school district to report the results of security
audits to the Texas School Safety Center in addition to the district’s board of trustees.
(Sections 3.02 and 3.04 of SB 11- 80r.)
Please DO NOT send your audit reports directly to the Texas School Safety Center. Audit results should be held as confidentially as possible. The TxSSC will contact each district in July with instructions on how to access an ON-LINE system (DARtool) to report CERTAIN results. These results comprise the District Audit Report (DAR). A draft copy of the DAR questions may be found below. The DARtool will remain open from mid-July until September 30, 2008 to report the audit results. At that time, the TxSSC will begin the process of preparing a state report from the information submitted by Texas school districts.
TEC 37.108 does not address specifically how this information is to be presented to the district’s board of trustees or in what time frame. Audits must be completed by August 31, 2008. The results of the district’s audits must be transmitted using the ON-LINE DARtool to the TxSSC from mid-July 2008, until September 30, 2008, after which time the TxSSC will begin preparing the DAR for the State of Texas.
The District Audit Report Questionnaire provides the specific questions that will be given on the District Audit Reporting Tool. The Glossary provides definitions for any potentially confusing terms stated within the questions.
Polling Place Safety
Many of our schools and district facilities serve as polling places for Local, State, and National elections. The following Polling Place Safety Checklist was developed in 2004 by the Central Texas School Safety consortium in conjunction with the Travis County Clerk's Office.
SBLE Registrations Accepted
The Center for Safe Communities and Schools and the Texas School Safety Center are now accepting registrations for the upcoming School-Based Law Enforcement Conference to be held on June 29 - July 3, 2008 in Corpus Christi, TX. We are pleased to announce the introduction of a new SBLE conference track for higher education law enforcement officers. By attending this conference, you may be eligible to receive up to 20 TCLEOSE hours, DARE in-service hours or 2.0 CEU credits. The early application deadline is May 30, 2008.
Texas Unified School Safety Standards
The Texas School Safety Center in collaboration with Texas Education Agency, Harris County Department of Education, and the State Safe and Drug-Free School Initiative at Region VI have developed the Unified Texas School Safety Standards which will help all districts by providing a benchmark to measure school safety efforts. The standards are available for public review and comment online, please click on the following link: Texas Unified School Safety Standards
New Requirement for School Bus Evacuation Training
Effective September 1, 2007, state law requires that school districts provide school bus evacuation training for all students. The law requires conducting at least two training sessions per year for students, teachers and transportation personnel. The training will occur each semester during the school day and include a classroom lesson and a bus evacuation drill. Learn more information at the Texas Department of Public Safety Website.
Page address: http://www.cscs.txstate.edu/txssc.htm