Uvalde shooting impacting school safety in Texas Panhandle

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - One year ago, a school shooting occurred at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. The event impacted lives across the country and implemented changes across the nation, especially in the state of Texas.

The Texas Education Agency has mandated weekly door sweeps, meaning every school in Texas once a week has to perform door sweeps to ensure doors are closed and locked.

The Texas Association of School Resource Officers has added more training for its officers, said five-year member Darrell Fisher, school resource officer at River Road High School.

Locally, Potter County Sheriff’s Office has upped its training with firearms and bullet-resistant shields.

“It’s made me more aware as well as your staff members, your teachers, your parents’ and students to where ‘if you see something say something,’” said Fisher. “It has made everybody more vigilant.”

Fisher says River Road is building upon safety measures already put in place and he has seen students take part in keeping schools safe by following the saying, “if you see something say something.”

The Region 16 Education Service Center said their campuses have had to make some updates after Uvalde. Doors have been updated and technology has been added for alert systems.

“They’ve gone through and really honed down on what procedures and protocols for school safety,” said Robin Terry, coordinator of counseling and support services for Region 16.

Terry says training is needed across the board, including students and teachers. The “West Texas Hospitality” that students know is opening doors for visitors. Terry says students and staff can still be hospitable but need to focus on awareness.

“We’ve had to look at school safety, with more focus intentionally on how people come to our school and who we let into our school,” said Terry.

One way Region 16 schools have updated security is by checking visitors in with ID verification.

Copyright 2023 KFDA. All rights reserved.