BELTON, Texas — The Belton ISD Board of Trustees has taken new action regarding the security of district schools.
At a Board meeting on Aug. 31, BISD passed a resolution citing a "good cause exception" to adopt an alternate standard for the recently passed House Bill 3, which requires an armed security officer at every public school campus in Texas.
According to BISD, the alternate standard will be to contract with a private company to provide armed security guards to campuses in the district. Guards will reportedly be designated staff to act solely in the capacity of armed security at each campus.
BISD said the "good cause exception" is allowed by law, and the district will still be in compliance with HB 3. The district also said they expect other districts who are not able to fulfill the legislative requirement of hiring school resource officers or licensed peace officers to adopt similar resolutions.
The Board of Trustees also approved a private security company to serve Belton ISD, Vets Securing America, a San Antonio-based company managed and staffed by veterans.
BISD said the District Safety Team and Vets Securing America will "Immediately begin implementing a plan to staff the approved positions".
19 security officers were reportedly approved to provide security to campuses in BISD. The district said nine school resource officers are already provided through partnerships with the Belton Police Department and Temple Police Department.
Assistant Superintendent of Operations Michael Morgan invited parents to share concerns, ideas or strategies about school safety with their children's school principal.
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