Texas Governor Calls for School Rapid Response Training After Uvalde Shooting

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at Uvalde High School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022. Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants Texas State University’s Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center to instruct first responders in the state to more effectively respond to active attack events such as the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last month that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

A letter to the center’s executive director, Pete Blair, instructs Blair to begin rapid response training programs at all school districts across the state.

“We sadly recognize we cannot do anything to bring back the precious lives that were taken; however, we must do everything in our power to prevent the same tragic ending from happening again,” Abbott wrote in the letter (pdf), dated June 6.

“An important part of these prevention efforts must focus on the proper training of law enforcement and school administrators on how to respond when they face the threat of an active shooter on their campus. This vital training, which is delivered by veteran first responders with proven experience in active attack response and police training, will help law enforcement on school campuses better respond to these situations.”

Law enforcement personnel stand outside a funeral home during a visitation for Amerie Garza, a 10-year-old victim who was killed in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 30, 2022. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

The ALERRT training, which is provided by veteran first responders with proven experience in active shooter response, has served over 200,000 first responders across the nation.

The training, Abbott said, must start before the start of the 2022–23 school year.

“I know that certified trainers within the Texas Department of Public Safety stand ready to help provide this life-saving training to campuses across the state as quickly as possible,” he wrote.

Several days ago, the governor ordered school safety officials to carry out “random intruder” audits of Texas’s public schools. Abbott also asked lawmakers to convene special legislative committees to look into what legislation can be passed to prevent future school shootings with a focus on social media, mental health, firearm safety, and police training.

“The State must work beyond writing words on paper and ensuring that the laws are being followed; it must also ensure that a culture of constant vigilance is engrained in every campus and in every school district employee across the state,” he said.

Texas has more than 1,000 public school districts and charter schools, which include 8,000 campuses and 672 million square feet, according to the National Council on School Facilities’ website.

It comes amid conflicting information that was released about the Uvalde shooting on May 24 at Robb Elementary. State and local officials have frequently changed the timeline and details about the law enforcement response, how long it took, and whether a teacher had left a door propped open before shooter Salvador Ramos entered the school.

Late last week, a Texas state senator said school district police Chief Pete Arredondo didn’t have a police radio in the early stages of the shooting. Officials haven’t said how Arredondo was communicating with responders at the scene.