RCISD institutes Guardian Program for schools

A select number of teachers in Rice Consolidated ISD schools will now be allowed to arm themselves for the protection of students and staff according to a statement released by the office of superintendent Bill Heffner, IV. The RCISD Board of Trustees accepted a resolution to bring the Guardian Program to their schools in an effort to emphasize campus safety.

“Our foremost goal in implementing this program is to provide a safe and secure environment for our school community,” Superintendent Hefner said in the release on a social media post, “We will continue to work to improve safety on a daily basis. As we make changes, we appreciate your patience and support as always.”

Finding its roots in 2007 due to the longer response times of law enforcement in rural areas, the Guardian Program began as a direct response to the dangers presented by active shooters inside of schools. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act and the Texas Penal Code allowed school districts to authorize certain teachers and staff to carry firearms for immediate response in case of an emergency according to the Texas Association of School Boards. Texas has also since passed legislation requiring armed security at every campus, whether as official law enforcement officers or selected employees. The “Guardians” with authorization to carry are often privately kept, only having their identity shared with the campus officers, marshals and local law enforcement.

“Please note that all Guardians are carefully screened and have received extensive training as required by both the State and Rice CISD policies prior to serving as a Guardian,” Heffner said in the statement.

The Guardian Program is just the latest of the measures RCISD has implemented this school year to emphasize their students’ safety on campus. Rice High School as well as other schools in Texas have installed metal detectors at the school entrance, as well as using a single entrance at the front for entry during the day. Other schools such as Columbus High School use a ‘buzzer’ system at the front, allowing front desk employees to see and speak to those attempting to enter the school through a camera and speaker before being allowed entrance.

The events of tragedies such as the Uvalde shooting in 2022 have heightened the fear of active shooters on rural campuses throughout Texas. As many crisis situations such as school shootings have their most critical moments during the first 10 minutes, RCISD and several schools around Texas have taken the step to arm their staff members and combine with the School Resource Officers and school marshals for quick responses to danger.

The decision to allow for armed staff members comes less than a month after the confirmation of Resolution R2023-10 in the City of Eagle Lake on Aug. 8. The resolution marked Eagle Lake as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary City”, meaning that any federal or state gun legislation the City Council believes is an infringement on their residents’ right to bear arms will not be enforced in the town.