The board for the Houston Independent School District approved a resolution Thursday that allocates $2 million in district funds for rifles, body armor, and ammunition for school police officers.
The school board approved the funding increase by a 6-3 vote and had the backing of district Superintendent Millard House II, who said the funds are needed to help ensure the district’s police department can adequately respond to an active-shooter incident.
FATHER OF PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM RIPS FOCUS ON GUN CONTROL AFTER UVALDE
“The bigger issue here is assuring that [officers] have all of the tools possible so that they can be as safe as possible and provide the kind of safety that we want them to provide for our campuses,” he said at the meeting.
The push to increase security at district schools comes months after 19 students and two teachers were gunned down during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Houston is the only school district in the country that maintains its own “accredited” police department.
“The equipment we purchase that the board approved is mainly for active-shooter incidents,” HISD police Chief Pete Lopez told ABC13. “Officers are not going to be walking around campuses with rifles slung across their back or their shoulders or carrying shields.”
Various school safety initiatives have garnered renewed attention nationwide in the months following the Uvalde shooting. Several states, including Ohio, have pushed to arm teachers and school staff. Other efforts have included tighter restrictions on school building access and increasing the number of school security and resource officers.
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In June, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill expanding background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21, as well as expanding so-called red flag laws that would allow law enforcement authorities to confiscate firearms temporarily from people deemed dangerous by a judge.
The law passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support despite opposition from the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups.
