More than 150 parents and students gathered at Santa Fe High School’s auditorium Thursday to hear one last review of the security enhancements that implemented by the district before students return to school on Monday. Some changes were evident the moment folks stepped onto the school’s campus. Construction crews are racing to lay carpet and finish renovations to the high school’s enhanced security vestibule. Metal detectors are stationed at three entry points across the campus.  view article

Midland Independent School District Board of Trustees met Tuesday evening to discuss a packed agenda, and receive an update from the bullying committee. MISD Executive Director of Student Services, Teresa Moore, presented the committee’s recommendations to the school board. view article

Lake View High School staff members jumped in their seats as audio of gunshots sounded inside the auditorium Tuesday evening. The recording was part of an hourlong active shooter training that will be provided to all San Angelo ISD staff. The Unified Response to Active Shooter Events training, as it is known, is a joint effort of local law enforcement and the San Angelo Fire Department.  view article

As students and staff head back to class, Texas lawmakers suggested a renewed focus on mental health and school safety. The Senate Select Committee on School Violence and School Security met over the summer to hear testimony from experts and the public, culminating in a report full of recommendations for the Legislature to address next session. view article

Starting Aug. 30, Austin Independent School District is enforcing a clear bag policy at district athletic events. The policy will be enforced at Burger Stadium, Delco Center, House Park Athletics Facility, Nelson Field and Noack Sports Complex. view article

Just like the kids at Gunter Elementary school, police officer Cynthia Folk is starting her new position today as the Gunter ISD school resource officer. A position she says she is thrilled to start. "They can come and call me 'Mrs. Cynthia' or 'Officer Folk' and we can have an awesome year and rapport together," said Folk. view article

Last school year will be remembered as one of the deadliest ever. According to Education Week, there were 14 school shootings with injuries and deaths, totaling 32 people slain, 26 of them students. All around South Texas, you can find many small school districts in rural cities and counties. The majority of these schools were built as open campuses since some buildings were shared by all students, from kindergarten through 12th grade. view article

Students at the Fort Bend Independent School District started school this week, and there's a unique program available inside Ridgemont Elementary School. It's the first public school in the state to offer applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy, to kids with Autism. ABA teaches reinforcement. Students feel successful with even small tasks and then enjoy learning new things. That can set them up to be successful for the rest of their lives but some families have to forgo the therapy because it's too expensive. view article

On their first day of school later this month, students in Big Spring ISD in West Texas will be greeted by a new sign alerting them that staff members are now armed. The sign is part of a sobering reality more districts around Texas have accepted as school shootings like the one at Sante Fe High School May 18continue to plague the U.S. The sign outside Goliad Elementary School—which reads, "ATTENTION Please be aware that the staff at Big Spring ISD are armed and will use whatever force necessary to protect our students"—was approved in May after the district's board of trustees voted on campus carry policy upgrades. view article

As students return to class in Crosby ISD Thursday, the district says it may make some changes in an effort to make their campuses safer. Right now the district, which serves 6,000 students, has five school resource officers who are employees of Crosby ISD. The district says those officers will be visible at every campus each day. However, the district may add more officers. view article

Fort Worth ISD teachers are learning to use combat-style tourniquets and bandaging as part of a new program that aims to put life-saving supplies in every classroom. Thursday, school nurses from campuses across the district were some of the first to receive training from the 'Stop the Bleed' program that is organized by Cook Children's Hospital and Fort Worth Firefighter Charities. view article

Students returning to school in the Southside Independent School District will see more security measures in place this year. District leaders held a presentation at Thursday’s school board meeting. view article

Ysleta Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre stopped by the KFOX14 Morning News on Wednesday, to talk about the upcoming school year. School starts Monday, Aug. 27 for Ysleta ISD. view article

As a new school year begins, a 15-year-long trend of parents refusing to vaccinate their children in Texas may put your child at serious risk for diseases like measles.  That’s the concern of many of the state’s physicians based on new numbers from the Texas Health and Human Services department. view article

As students arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for the start of the new school year on Wednesday, they found a tall new fence surrounding the perimeter, banners draped along the exterior willing them to be "#MSDStrong," and a fresh coat of burgundy paint in the hallways. Each in its own way was an attempt to mark the setting as a place of learning and reassure its occupants of a fortified safety within its walls. view article

An extra set of eyes will be watching over students within Lorena ISD this upcoming school year. The district added its first school resource officer to increase safety and security across its campuses. Lorena ISD Superintendent Joe Kucera said they've had a great relationship with Lorena police for years, but both sides decided that it was time to add a permanent officer to the staff. view article

Santa Fe ISD will hold a parent information meeting tonight at the high school. The meeting will be held in the Santa Fe High School auditorium located at 16000 Highway 6. view article

A Texas mother was killed Monday in the parking lot of EPISD's Tippin Elementary in West El Paso after the first day of school. Kharisma Ashlee James, 33, was struck by a car driven by Roger Hawking. Three children also were injured in the accident. District officials said Monday that the mother attempted to get in front of the car to protect the three children. view article

An Oklahoma school district briefly shut down this week after people purporting to be parents of students used social media to make violent, epithet-filled threats against a transgender girl. Public schools in Achille reopened Wednesday after being closed Monday and Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, Bryan County Sheriff Johnny Christian has launched an investigation into a series of posts in a now-deleted private Facebook group called Achille ISD Parents Group. A number of users there made cruel and transphobic comments about a 12-year-old seventh-grade student, identified in the media simply as Maddie.  view article

CHRISTOVAL, TX — Christoval superintendent David Walker says, based on statistics, school shootings end when met with a dynamic force.  School districts have several options when it comes to that “dynamic force.”  Having a school resource officer, or SRO, having a school marshal, or implementing the guardian program.  But some of those options aren’t friendly to smaller more secluded school districts like Christoval. view article

School shootings are now, sadly, something educators must think about. There are several active shooter trainings conducted at schools but some are taking measures into their own hands. This week, our Senora Scott has an in depth look at those measures and the schools taking them. She begins with the history of the Guardian Program at Christoval ISD. view article

The hallways are now safer for students and staff at China Spring ISD. Over the summer, the district upgraded security at each of its campuses. It's Darius Young's first year teaching with China Spring ISD. He's excited to welcome in his new students to a school that's added more safety features. view article

As students filed into the first day of school Wednesday at three of the Thorndale Independent School District campuses, they were met with new signs indicating that some staff members are armed. Back in June, the Thorndale ISD Board of Trustees voted to create a "School Guardian" program which allows select faculty members to be armed and trained to defend their schools in case of an active shooter. The district has approximately 600 students across three campuses. view article

The Thorndale ISD in Milam County is sending its employees back to school armed and ready to shoot, should an active shooter pose a threat to students. "We pray that this will never be needed," said Thorndale ISD Superintendent Adam Ivy of the district's new School Guardian Program. "Unfortunately, we've seen across the country that these things are happening more and more often, and I think it's naive to think that it can't happen here." view article

While conversations about how to protect students from potential threats in schools take place at the state and national levels, Cy-Fair ISD’s safety and security committee has convened over the summer to plan several initiatives for the 2018-19 school year. District officials have been working to improve student safety since voters approved a bond referendum in 2014 that included $55.4 million for safety and security upgrades, such as the installation of emergency call stations at all secondary campuses, additional security cameras, card reader devices, lockdown panic buttons and security vestibules at all 91 district campuses. view article

The Killeen ISD school board voted at Tuesday's meeting to approve a new health insurance plan with Baylor, Scott and White that offers lower premiums than those paid last year. The district says the cost is about 9 percent less than what was paid last year and the plan also offers a one month waiver of premiums. After the school board approved 2 percent pay raises for all employees this summer, some were concerned the raise would be eaten up by health insurance costs. view article

Certain employees could be carrying concealed weapons on Denton ISD campuses soon. During a Tuesday night board meeting, district officials discussed a potential policy change that would allow school employees who are also commissioned peace officers to bring concealed firearms on campus. Under the new policy, those who carry would need to be current district employees, have extensive experience as a law enforcement officer and keep up their certifications with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. view article

With a new school year, comes new routines. Both Abilene school districts preparing for what this new year will bring. "There's some mental health programs that we're going to bring in," said Craig Bessent, Assistant Superintendent, Wylie ISD. Bessent says, the district is making sure their kids are comfortable in their school's atmosphere. view article

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students are headed back to class today in Parkland, Florida, six months after 17 people were killed in a shooting.  Some of the students returning spent the summer working as full-time activists and traveling across the country with "March for Our Lives" to fight for gun reform. One of the youngest members, 15-year-old Lauren Hogg, told ABC News' "Start Here" podcast that she's going back to school as a sophomore knowing "it's never going to be normal again." view article

Several school districts start the new school year Wednesday and safety is a top concern for most parents. Jennifer Buechler, a mother who has four kids enrolled at Pecan Grove Elementary, is asking Fort Bend ISD to build a fence around the school to keeps kids in and the bad guys out. view article

“When you take the test, make sure you read and understand the question and answers and draw the scenario out,” John David Franz Jr. reminded the incoming high school seniors seated in front of him. While applicable to almost any testing situation, Franz’s advice wasn’t geared toward the typical exam most students take. Rather, he was helping a dozen or so Sharyland High School students prepare for their remote pilot certificate exam — the first step toward operating drones legally for a law enforcement agency or private company. view article

A school district in southern Oklahoma was forced to shut down for two days after parents used a Facebook group to threaten violence against a transgender seventh-grade student. Superintendent Rick Beene closed Achille Public Schools on Monday and Tuesday after parents posted claims on a Facebook group “Achille ISD Parents Group” that the student, who identifies as a girl, was looking over the stalls in the girls’ bathroom. view article

Denison ISD will have a new security system in place, and before any visitor can gain access to a campus they first have to scan their ID's into the LobbyGuard System. "Immediately, when anyone comes into the front doors of our building, that a message is sent that security and safety is a high priority," said Denison ISD Superintendent David Kirkbride view article

You can never be too prepared for an emergency, and that's why teachers at Texas City ISD received some extra emergency training Monday. "And there's things you train to do should the wrong person get in your building, so there's a lot that goes into it," Texas City ISD Superintendent Dr. Rodney Cavness told NewsFix. "Of course, we try to stop it on the front end, and we certainly hope it doesn't happen here or anywhere else, but we're gonna be prepared should it happen." view article

When school starts Wednesday in Thorndale some staff members will not only have a lesson plan, a few will be armed. Six warning signs were put up Monday around the campus which includes the elementary, middle and high school. Superintendent Adam Ivy told FOX-7 he regrets the need for the signs but not the decision to put them up.  view article