Harper Elementary students Kailyn Arrieta and Mia Murphy get to know each other as they color together on their first day of school Thursday, Aug. 10. Courtesy Princeton ISD

Many school districts were scrambling to comply with a new state law requiring at least one security officer with a gun at every campus during regular school hours.

The measure was a direct response to the worst school massacre in Texas history, the May 2022 fatal shooting of 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. 

House Bill (HB) 3, “An Act relating to measures for ensuring public school safety,” was filed in March by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock and won final Legislative approval in May. HB 3 was signed June 14 by the governor and will take effect Friday, Sept. 1.

The new law requires each district’s board of trustees to determine the appropriate number of fulltime armed security officers per campus, with at least one per school. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) was tasked with monitoring compliance but given no enforcement authority. 

The new law eliminated a previous rule that armed guards must be commissioned peace officers, but still set high standards. 

The bill said the security officer must be: “(1) a school district peace officer; (2) a school resource officer (SRO); or (3) a commissioned peace officer employed as security personnel …”

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