Amarillo ISD to discuss implementation of House Bill 3 and House Bill 114

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Amarillo ISD’s Board of Trustees met Monday to discuss how House Bill 3 and House Bill 114 would be implemented across the district.

For those unsure what House Bill 3 is, it requires that each school district has an armed security officer present at each campus.

Amarillo ISD has voted to hire more officers, and double the size of the district’s police department. They will begin the process to train and arm school staff through the Texas School Defender Program.

They will add eight additional officers to the AISD Police Department. AISD says this will ensure and average response time of less than three minutes for all campuses, and provide necessary funding, training and support for AISD school staff to become guardians.

“This training program is designed to save lives by empowering our faculty members with the knowledge, skills, and capability to safeguard themselves and the children under their care in an emergency until law enforcement can arrive on campus,” says Amarillo ISD Superintendent Doug Loomis.

Training through the defender program for AISD teachers includes:

• Texas License to Carry (LTC)
• School Safety Certification (Certified instructor during LTC or by Cinco Peso)
• Three years minimum employment with AISD
• Psychological examination
• Completion of the 24-hour minimum Cinco Peso Defender Program
• 90 percent qualification minimum score twice per school year
• Quarterly training conducted by AISD Police Department (nights/weekend training)

Within the next several months, the first round of the group will begin the qualification process. AISD hopes to have their first group of defenders put in place sometime during the 2024 spring semester.

Bill 114 was also a focal point of Monday night’s meeting. The bill will make it to where any student who is caught with a vape on or within 300 feet of school property or a school sanctioned event will immediately be sent to a disciplinary alternative education program.

This goes for if a child is in possession of vapes that are water or THC. It will go into effect in September.

As of right now AISD says the maximum number of days a child will receive will be three.

If DAEP is full or a student who has committed a more violent crime, they will need to be put in DAEP.

The students who are there because of a vape will serve the rest of their time in in-school suspension.

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