In today’s volatile landscape where school shootings are unceasingly making headlines, many school officials are looking for ways to increase safety and security on their own campuses. The Houston Independent School District is no exception. As the largest school district in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States, it serves about 209,000 students across 280 campuses.
The Pasco County school district in Tampa, Fla. is adding $840,000 in new surveillance cameras to campuses over two years, as part of an effort to enhance student and employee safety.
The Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General has received 28,000 tips on its anonymous school safety tip program that was launched one year ago, and mental health issues is the most event reported.
Pflugerville, Texas Independent School District will be replacing 1,100 cameras district-wide with funds from its 2018 bond for security features and equipment upgrades.
U.S. Senators David Perdue (R-GA) and Doug Jones (D-AL) introduced the School Safety Clearinghouse Act, which would establish a federally-funded and housed information clearinghouse detailing best practices for school security and design.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued an executive order creating a specialized division of Ohio Homeland Security (OHS) devoted exclusively to the safety of Ohio’s students and schools.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Student Online Personal Protection Act of 2019, a measure that gives parents more control over online information schools collect from students and how their data is used.