Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday unveiled a slate of recommendations aimed at making “our schools and our state a safer place.”
Abbott’s recommendations included creation of vestibules where school doors must be remotely unlocked before visitors can enter, installation of metal detectors and addition of alarms that would signal the presence of an active shooter.
The proposals were part of a 43-page report that addressed ways to make schools and communities safer. Abbott unveiled the report a day after students returned to Santa Fe High School for the first time since a May 18 shooting that left eight students and two substitute teachers dead.
Abbott also encouraged the legislature to consider adopting a “red flag” law that would allow family, law enforcement officials and others to file a petition to remove firearms from a potentially dangerous person.
He also recommended expanding a program statewide that’s aimed at identifying students with mental health problems and removing them from school.
Abbott proposed a change to the state law that says guns can’t be made accessible to children under 17, with exceptions such as for hunting or for use with parental supervision. He’s encouraging the legislature to consider changing the age to include 17-year-olds. The accused gunman in the shooting was 17 and used his father’s firearms.
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