GUARDIAN PROGRAM “FULLY IMPLEMENTED” AT BURTON ISD

  

Burton ISD school officials say the district has fully implemented a program to allow certain district employees to carry handguns on school grounds.

The “Guardian Program” was approved by the Burton School Board in August of 2018. According to a statement from Burton ISD, the program was “thoroughly prepared over the next year to provide a safe environment for the students and staff”.  The district said its due diligence and planning processes were “thorough and realistic”.

The primary goal of the program, according to the district, is to select and train specific staff to be armed on site under Texas License to Carry (LTC) to “protect all those on campus against an active shooter attack”. New signs on campus state the campus is now protected by armed “Guardians”, which the district said should “provide a strong deterrent to potential attackers”.  The number of Guardians, along with their identities, is kept confidential for security reasons.

According to the district, Guardians were screened and had to pass psychological testing before being placed on the Guardian Team. In January, the members underwent intensive training at Deans Defensive Shooting for Active Shooter Defense Tactics.

Guardians also participated in Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), a stress-induced active shooter defense training that addresses fundamentals of firearms techniques. They were also taught how to tactically move and successfully link up with arriving law enforcement to prevent the Guardians from being mistaken for the active shooter suspect.

The district stated that students and staff will be protected by this “new protective mindset and trained Guardian team”.

According to the district’s Emergency Operations Plan, no position of employment within the district will be required to participate in the Guardian Program. Employees can lose authorization if they are put on administrative leave, or if they lose employment with the district, for whatever reason.  In addition, the superintendent has authority to remove authorization from an employee at any time.

The district’s budget will fund the program, but the district will seek state grant opportunities. Per the district’s 2019-20 budget, the cost for the program totaled $45,000.

A similar program was considered in November of 2013 by members of the Brenham School Board, who voted five to two to reject the Brenham Angel Guardians program. The plan called for an armed professional on each of the district’s campuses.  The vote on the measure came after nearly a year of workshops, debates, and surveys discussing the merits of the plan.

Full statement from Burton ISD below:

Burton Independent School District has now fully implemented their Guardian Program after completing armed staff training and will be posting new signs throughout the district.

The program was approved by the school board in the Fall of 2018 and thoroughly prepared over the next year to provide a safe environment for the students and staff. The primary goal of the Guardian Program is to select and train specific staff to be armed on site under Texas License to Carry (LTC) to protect all those on campus against an active shooter attack.  The due diligence and planning processes were thorough and realistic.

The new signs provide a strong deterrent to potential attackers stating that the campus is now a difficult target protected by armed Guardians.

Guardians were screened and had to pass psychological testing before being placed on the Guardian Team. In January, the members underwent intensive training at Deans Defensive Shooting for Active Shooter Defense Tactics. The number of Guardians along with their identities is kept confidential for security reasons.

This course taught the Guardians precision handgun techniques with targets over ½ football field away. All safety issues were addressed and firing fundamentals were verified and finely tuned.

Guardians participated in Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) which is identical to what law enforcement and EMS have undergone over the past couple of years. This stress induced active shooter defense training addressed fundamentals of firearms techniques.

Finally, the Guardians were taught how to tactically move and successfully link up with arriving law enforcement to prevent the Guardians from being mistaken for the active shooter suspect.

This new protective mindset and trained Guardian team will protect the students and staff of Burton ISD.

John Deans

Firearms Instructor – Deans Defensive Shooting

Dr. Edna Kennedy

Superintendent – Burton ISD