Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools & School Security
NOTE: This is archived committee information from the 85th Legislative Session.
Committee Information
CHAIR
Larry Taylor
VICE-CHAIR
Joan Huffman
MEMBERS
Brandon Creighton
Kelly Hancock
Don Huffines
Eddie Lucio, Jr.
Charles Schwertner
Royce West
John Whitmire
CLERK:
Nicole Sunstrum
TEL:
(512) 463-0355
LOCATION:
Sam Houston Building, 440
Interim Charges
- Improve the infrastructure and design of Texas schools to reduce security threats, and discuss various proposals to harden school facilities, including limiting access points, improving screening and detecting of weapons, retrofitting school facilities with improved locks, emergency alarm systems, and monitoring cameras.
- Study school security options and resources, including, but not limited to, the school marshal program, school police officers, armed school personnel, the Texas School Safety Center, and other training programs to determine what improvements can be made to provide school districts and charter schools with more robust security options.
- Examine the root cause of mass murder in schools including, but not limited to, risk factors such as mental health, substance use disorders, anger management, social isolation, the impact of high intensity media coverage — the so-called “glorification” of school shooters — to determine the effect on copy cat shootings, and the desensitization to violence resulting from video games, music, film, and social media. Recommend strategies to early identify and intercept high-risk students, as well as strategies to promote healthy school culture, including character education and community support initiatives.
- Examine whether current protective order laws are sufficient or whether the merits of Extreme Risk Protective Orders, or “Red Flag” laws, should be considered for seeking a temporary removal of firearms from a person who poses an immediate danger to themselves or others, only after legal due process is provided with a burden of proof sufficient to protect Second Amendment rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
