Texas governor Greg Abbott on Monday ordered that active-shooter training be administered to all K–12 public-school districts in the state following the Uvalde elementary-school massacre in May in which an 18-year-old gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers.
In a letter to Pete Blair, the executive director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University, Abbott wrote, “I direct that you deploy your nationally recognized active shooter training to all Texas school districts, prioritizing school-based law enforcement.” The programming must begin over the summer, Abbott stipulated, adding,
This vital training, which is delivered by veteran first responders with proven experience in active attack response and police training, will help law enforcement on school campuses better respond to these situations. I know that certified trainers within the Texas Department of Public Safety stand ready to help provide this life-saving training to campuses across the state as quickly as possible.
Governor Abbott also tasked ALERRT with conducting an after-action debrief of the tragedy at Uvalde once the investigation is finished. ALERRT sends veteran first responders to share their expertise in active attack response with trainees. The program has trained more than 200,000 first responders across the country.
The program “includes 16 hours of training in team movement, room entry techniques, approach and breaching the crisis, shooting and moving, as well as post engagement priorities of work,” according to a press release from the Abbott administration. “The vital training has been shown to shorten response times and strengthen law enforcement abilities. Training will prioritize equipping school-based law enforcement with the necessary skills and knowledge to quickly and effectively respond to active shooting events in Texas public schools.”
In May, a gunman barged into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and started shooting with an AR-15 style rifle at a fourth-grade classroom. Law enforcement in Uvalde is facing scrutiny for allegedly delaying for more than an hour before entering the school to search for the gunman as the carnage unfolded. School district police chief Pete Arredondo has also come under fire since Texas DPS head Steven McCraw said he made the “wrong decision” to instruct officers to stand down as 911 calls for help were being made inside the classroom.
Congress has since been debating how to proceed, with some Republicans proposing “hardening” schools by arming teachers or bolstering security on campus premises, and some Democrats urging gun restrictions, expanding background checks, and red-flag laws, which would allow for the confiscation of firearms from individuals deemed dangerous.
Last week, Abbott urged his state’s legislature to form a special committee to probe the Uvalde shooting and offer legislative recommendations on “the twin issues of school safety and mass violence.”