School board officials addressed some of its policies to bring them into line with statewide regulations.

The Princeton ISD Board of Trustees considered three amendments to district policies during the regular meeting Monday, Sept. 19.

Two of the policies pertained to security, applying to a hazard plan and the second laying out guidelines for employing security personnel in schools.

The first policy, called CKC, addressed how the district must respond to a bomb or terroristic threat and the creation of a hazard plan. In the event of a threat, the district is required to notify parents as soon as possible. 

The district is also required to train employees on using the plan to respond to an emergency, hold drills and exercises for students and implement a security audit of its plan.

Additionally, the plan must designate a chain of command when responding to an emergency and provide resources to assist with the psychological health of staff, students and the community affected by a disaster. 

“As we’ve talked through some security changes and some things, we pulled though policies and visited with TASB,” said Superintendent Donald McIntyre. “These three policies allow us to do what we’ve been doing and specify a little bit more information of the rules that go along with those things.”

The second policy under consideration by trustees regulates security personnel at schools. It allows districts to authorize the placement of armed personnel inside different campuses and lays out the criteria for their presence.

If a district elects to have armed security in schools, officers are requried to complete an active shooter training response course approved by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Personnel are also required to obtain a school-based law enforcement proficiency certificate within six months of employment.

Trustees can also restrict the types of handguns used by security personnel in areas where carrying a gun is permitted.

The final policy for consideration regulates electronic communications by staff, specifically prohibiting unauthorized communications between district employees, trustees and students.

For PISD, the changes involved enumerating that school marshals can carry and establishing specific types of guns and ammunition to be carried, said McIntyre.

The board voted to approve all three local policy amendments as presented.

For the full story, see the Sept. 22 issue of The Princeton Herald.