Leander - Liberty Hill Edition | October 2023

BY CHLOE YOUNG

Safety law to prompt new police department Leander ISD took its rst step toward com- plying with a new state law requiring school districts to have an armed security guard on every campus. Two-minute impact The board of trustees voted to claim a good cause exception and move forward with an alternative standard to comply with the new law at a Sept. 7 meeting. House Bill 3 required school districts to have at least one armed security guard on every campus by Sept. 1, giving districts $10 per student and $15,000 per campus to do so. The district has claimed an exception due to a lack of personnel and funding, as LISD had eight school resource ocers across seven of its 48 campuses at the beginning of the school year, LISD Chief Communications Ocer Crestina Hardie said.

Disciplinary action for vaping heightened Leander ISD and Liberty Hill ISD students receiving disciplinary action for vaping may be required to attend the Leander Extended Opportunity Center. The overview A new state law requires students using, possessing or selling e-cigarettes, marijuana or THC at school, within 300 feet of school property or at a school-related event to attend a disciplinary alternative education program Prior to the law, students in both districts attended in-school suspension for vaping. Ocials from both districts said the LEO Center does not have the capacity to accom- modate the number of vaping instances their districts have been responding to.

Adding safety personnel To meet the requirements of HB 3, Leander ISD will hire:

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school resource ocers —as part of the LISD Police Department—to serve middle and high school campuses school marshals —district employees whose sole job is safety and security— for elementary and alternative school campuses

SOURCE: LEANDER ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The board’s action has allowed the district to begin forming its own police department and hir- ing school marshals as an alternative standard to meet the law’s requirements, said Bryan Miller, LISD executive director of student support. The proposed system would take $7.6 million to implement with some costs oset by $1.1 million in funding from the state and $1.2 million already allocated for the district’s existing ocer partnerships.

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LEANDER LIBERTY HILL EDITION