Texas School District Hosts School Safety Training
This week, school safety training will be held at Edinburg High School with hundreds of officers working in schools in attendance.
- By Kaitlyn DeHaven
- July 12, 2019
Edinburg School District is being proactive about school safety and hosting a school-based law enforcement training this week. The training will be held at Edinburg High School, and hundreds of officers working in schools along with other state and local authorities will be in attendance.
Chief Ricardo Perez Jr., Edinburg CISD Police, said that the officers need to be trained on how to identify potential threats and work with students.
“[The training will be] on understanding on how to work with students from Pre-k to 12th grade,” Perez said. “I mean it takes a special officer to work in a school district.”
The Texas School Safety Center under Texas State University will be collaborating with the district to provide this training. The course will include juvenile law, bullying, suicide prevention and school safety – specifically active shooter training.
Joe Muñoz, the manager of the Texas School Safety Center, said the course looks at more than just safety.
“It’s also looking at ways to avoid the criminal justice system and utilize better outlets to get the kid back on track in school.”
Chief Perez said part of the approach for their district is to learn how to identify warning signs and behavior patterns before they become a threat. He said this is a proactive approach that will hopefully help them avoid any potential issues.
“What triggered these individuals to come up and shoot up a school?” Perez said. “These officers are going to be trained on lessons learned from those incidents.”
About the Author
Kaitlyn DeHaven is the Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.