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Sinton I.S.D Armed Guards Could Violate Texas Education Code
Posted: Jan 29, 2013 5:20 PM by Andrew Ellison - aellison@kristv.com
Updated: Jan 31, 2013 4:44 PM
SINTON - People are asking whether armed security guards on school campuses in Sinton can actually be there.
The Texas Education Agency has very specific rules about who can act as security for school campuses and Sinton I.S.D may be breaking those rules.
The key word here is "armed". The Texas Education Code says that if security guards on campus are going to carry firearms, they have to be commissioned peace officers.
Commissioned peace officers would be officers like cops or sheriff's deputies, etc.
The guards that Sinton I.S.D hired are not commissioned peace officers. They work for a private security company called Eddie Garza Security.
Deputy Superintendent George Hernandez says the school board approved the guards, but that the board and the district may have been unaware of the T.E.A regulations when the decision was made.
"That discussion didn't come up at the board meeting," Hernandez says.
The school district's attorney says the issue is a matter of interpretation.
The T.E.A code mentions security personnel. He says the district didn't hire personnel, it contracted with a private company that has personnel.
He says that means the rule doesn't apply to them.
In the end, the goal is to keep student safe, the district just has to make sure that the security guards on campus can actually be on campus.
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