New Texas School Safety Funds Include $50M for Bullet-resistant Shields

The State of Texas recently announced new funding intended to help school systems after the tragedy in Uvalde. The amount, $105.5 Million, is set to expand multiple services in the school systems, including mental health resources and silent alarms.

Among the items listed in the funding is one straight out of a dystopian movie - bullet-resistant shields.

Texas Allocates Funds for Bullet-resistant Shields in Schools

According to a press release from the Governor's Office, the state has earmarked $50 million for the purchase of these shields. It's a dark time when this is even something we have to think about, but here we are.

What About the Rest of the Money?

The Governor's Office reports that the remaining money is intended to "enhance school safety and mental health services in Uvalde and throughout Texas".

$5 million will reportedly go to the Hill Country Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Center for an assessment of mental health services in Uvalde.

The rest will go toward:

- $5.8 million to expand the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) statewide
-$4.7 million to the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to increase Multisystemic Therapy (MST) across the state
-$950,000 to HHSC to expand Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) teams across the state
-$7 million for rapid response training by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center and $3 million for local law enforcement agencies to offset travel expenditures associated with the training
-$7 million to the Texas School Safety Center for on-site campus assessments to evaluate access control measures
-$17.1 million for school districts to purchase silent panic alert technology; and$5 million to the Texas Department of Public Safety to expand fusion center research and capabilities

Governor Abbott Says...

"The State of Texas is acting swiftly to ensure our schools are secure and that children, teachers, and families across Texas have the support and resources they need to be safe as we work to prevent future tragedies like the heinous crime committed in Uvalde," Governor Abbot wrote in a statement issued Wednesday.

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Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wrote that he intends to "build on the $100 million we appropriated in 2019 after the Santa Fe tragedy" to beef up security in schools and provide mental health resources.

What Do You Think?

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