Lubbock ISD schools focused on safety, security ahead of new school year

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Lubbock ISD students are returning to the classroom next week.

The district has been working over the summer break to ensure a safe environment for another school year.

Stacy Carter, director of school safety and security, says the district’s teachers are well trained and its schools are fully secured.

“Our campuses are the safest when it comes to physical security,” Carter said. “We have everything in place that we need to have in place.”

Lubbock ISD parents can rest assured the campus has taken the steps needed to ensure the wellbeing of all it students ahead of the new school year.

“We’ve done everything we can do to protect our kids and our staff members when they’re in our care,” Carter said.

The district spent the summer completing multiple safety checks to make sure the hardware installed at every campus is working properly.

“We’ve conducted our summer audits, checked every single exterior door and interior door in our district to make sure that they lock and close properly,” Carter said. “Then made any repairs that needed to be made for those.”

In 2018, the City of Lubbock passed a $130 million bond for the district, with a large chunk of it focused on safety.

Now the district is putting the final touches on the improvements that bond made possible.

One of those upgrades, secure vestibules at the entrance to every campus that forces anyone who comes in to speak with administrators before entering the main portion of the school.

“They are directed into a main office instead of just being able to wonder into the hallways and things like that,” Carter said.

It’s not just the facilities being prepared. The staff on every LISD campus must complete district and campus-specific training courses.

“Part of that campus training is reviewing the app as well but also really going over their campus-specific procedures, and how they do and conduct emergency response at each individual campus around the district,” Carter said.

Another change, implemented by the state, requires all schools have an armed guard on campus.

Carter says the guards at LISD must be fully qualified licensed peace officers, and they will have to complete training with the district as well.

Some LISD campuses are also enforcing a clear bag policy this year.

Carter says that is a campus-specific choice and the district is not planning on mandating it at all schools at this time.

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