TEXAS — Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday in a news release plans to send Department of Public Safety officers to patrol Uvalde CISD campuses when school begins in the fall, on Sept. 6. DPS plans to send more than 30 officers to the schools.
Hal Harrell, Uvalde CISD superintendent, requested this security presence from DPS.
DPS director Steven McCraw said DPS will work with Uvalde CISD "to ensure each child, parent, and teacher feels safe and protected during this difficult time."
This decision comes days after a Monday night school board meeting in Uvalde where Harrell announced a virtual learning option for the upcoming school year. The option is for families that aren't comfortable sending their kids back to school in-person after the May 24 massacre that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
"Texas will keep working to provide all available support and resources to the Uvalde community as they continue to heal," Abbott said in the news release.
Some additional actions by Gov. Abbott for the Uvalde community include:
- Investing an initial $5 million for a Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde to provide community services and mental health resources
- Providing $105.5 million to improve school safety and mental health services in Uvalde and throughout Texas
- Creating a donation webpage for those affected by the tragedy in Uvalde
- Giving Uvalde CISD $1.25 million for trauma-informed counseling, crisis intervention and community outreach