Bill Text: TX HR1108 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizing Superintendent David Thweatt for creating the Guardian Plan for the Harrold ISD.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-26 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HR1108 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR1108-Introduced.html
| 86R22626 GM-D | ||
| By: Springer | H.R. No. 1108 | |
|
|
||
| WHEREAS, Superintendent David Thweatt of the Harrold | ||
| Independent School District has responded to new challenges to | ||
| campus safety by creating the Guardian Plan, which allows teachers | ||
| to carry firearms as a defense against a potential school shooting; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Harrold ISD is a rural school district serving 200 | ||
| square miles near the Texas-Oklahoma border; its 24 employees and | ||
| 115 students at all grade levels come together each day in a single | ||
| two-story building situated in the middle of farmland; the nearest | ||
| law enforcement agency, the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Department, | ||
| is 15 minutes away by car; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 2007, after the Pennsylvania Amish schoolhouse | ||
| shooting that resulted in 5 deaths and the Virginia Tech shooting | ||
| that left more than 30 dead, Superintendent Thweatt worried that | ||
| the long emergency response time left the school vulnerable if a | ||
| similar incident were to occur in his district; in response, he | ||
| created the Guardian Plan, whereby certain teachers and | ||
| administrators are authorized to carry firearms on campus at all | ||
| times; each volunteer receives 15 hours of training that includes | ||
| hostage scenarios and shooting drills, and the identities of the | ||
| armed teachers are known only to select local officials; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the years since, Mr. Thweatt's program has been | ||
| adopted by at least 170 other Texas school districts, and his | ||
| initiative has helped provide peace of mind to students, parents, | ||
| and teachers across the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby recognize Superintendent David Thweatt for | ||
| creating the Guardian Plan and extend to him sincere best wishes for | ||
| the future; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for Mr. Thweatt as an expression of high regard by the | ||
| Texas House of Representatives. | ||
