Early voting is underway NOW for the November 6 elections, so we’re taking a look at some of the reasons why it’s so important that educators vote TODAY! In this post, we’re taking a closer look at school safety.

School safety is an issue that has recently come to the forefront of public policy discussions in the wake of the deadly school shooting earlier this year in Santa Fe, Texas.

The Texas House Committee on Appropriations heard from Santa Fe ISD officials in October, and discussed funding for school safety. Chair John Zerwas (R-Richmond) called it one of the most important issues the legislature will take up next session. The meeting was one of several the House and Senate have held over the summer to discuss different aspects of school safety.

The House and Senate have each issued reports on how they intend to tackle the issue during the upcoming legislative session, and Gov. Greg Abbott has released a list of recommendations as well. More recently, the governor's office released a list of actions that have already been taken to address school safety, including many by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

The agency’s plans to address school safety include a $54 million exceptional item in the agency’s legislative appropriations request (LAR). Commissioner Mike Morath explained to the House committee that the actions taken to date as well as the agency’s budget request are aligned to Gov. Greg Abbott’s school safety plan. The commissioner said that federal funds would likely not help pay for school hardening efforts, which would fall instead to state and local taxpayers. Morath also suggested creating safety standards for facilities, such as new schools, that would force compliance.

The ideas discussed by legislators include adding more school counselors, incorporating telemedicine to help identify students who may be prone to violence, and adding more armed personnel on campus -- including police officers and staff, such as school marshals. Legislators also contemplated adding metal detectors and asked architects for advice how to harden school campuses and make it more difficult for a shooter to penetrate campus security.

With the terror of the most recent shooting fresh on Texans' minds, there will be a push to pass some sort of legislation aimed at school security in the upcoming session. Lawmakers will be faced with finding a balance between physical security and ensuring the mental, emotional, and psychological well-being of students, while avoiding turning schools into buildings that resemble prisons. They'll also be faced with meeting this challenge with limited budgetary resources.

It will be a complicated discussion, and educators deserve to be part of it. But let's not forget who will be at the center of those conversations: the legislators and statewide officeholders elected on Nov. 6. Voters who care about school security and the steps that should be taken to keep all students, staff members, and school visitors safe should keep these issues in mind when casting their votes.