Texas (KXAN) — On Sept. 12 Texas School Safety Center began conducting offender safety audits across the state.
“Locked doors are a basic practice, but it’s a good and effective practice,” said Kathy Martinez-Prater, executive director of the Texas Center for School Safety.
Each intruder safety audit takes an in-depth look at campus safety, with inspectors checking external entry points and also looking at how the school screens visitors.
“We do a full perimeter evaluation of all exterior doors to make sure they lock as intended,” Martinez-Prather said.
The goal is to reach 100% of school districts in the state and 75% of campuses this school year.
So far, there have been about 1,000 campuses that have passed security checks against intruders.
Leander ISD recently received its inspection findings. A district spokesperson told KXAN that seven campuses were checked.
Of the seven schools inspected, there is one school that has not been identified and has findings. Findings are any problems that may occur, such as a broken lock or a door that has been left unlocked.
In Leander ISD’s case, the finding was an exterior door malfunction. The district said the latch was replaced immediately.
“It’s not a failure of a campus, it doesn’t mean they’re not safe, it just means there’s room for improvement,” Martinez-Prater said.
Schools that experience problems must fix the problems found within 45 days.
“The state’s whistleblower audits are just one way to ensure the safety of our campuses. We know that learning, along with a mindset of safety and security, comes from a culture of keeping students at the heart of what we do day in and day out.” – Leander, ISD spokesperson
Martinez-Prater said most schools do not have findings after a safety inspection against violators.