13 Investigates: Districts still need more officers as law calls for one per campus

ALIEF, Texas (KTRK) — Alief Independent School District Police Chief Dan Turner said he spends more than half his time trying to recruit and hire officers to comply with a new law that requires an armed individual on every campus.

But, as the school year comes to an end, the district still has 25 officer openings.

“It takes a special person to be a police officer. You put your life on the line every day. You never know what you’re walking into or what you’re walking away from and it’s going to take a strong-willed person to make the decision that I want to do that every day,” Turner told 13 Investigates.

Alief ISD is competing with districts across the state to hire officers after House Bill 3 went into effect Sept. 1. The law requires “at least one armed security officer is present during regular school hours at each district campus.”

If a school district is unable to employ an armed officer due to funding or staffing issues, the law allows the district to claim a “good cause exemption,” which means developing an alternative safety plan approved by its school board.

Texas law says the alternative plan can include hiring a school marshal, who has 80 hours of training, or arming an employee who has completed school safety training.

“We’d rather take our time to get that officer that fits what Alief is looking for versus just taking a shortcut that may be there for us,” the district’s Superintendent Dr. Anthony Mays said.

13 Investigates found some school districts are relying on security guards, and why Alief ISD says that’s not the route for them, at 10 on ABC13 Houston.

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