The first set of roundtables called for by Governor Greg Abbott to discuss school safety will take place Tuesday in Austin.
Students, teachers, parents and legislators are all expected to attend, some having experienced gun violence in schools first hand. School administrators from Wiley, Dallas and Garland ISD’s will all be in attendance.
On Monday, Republican State Representative Jason Villalba also penned a letter to Governor Abott asking for a special session to craft laws before the start of school this fall.
“Unless we take requisite action today to fix the problems we have today, or at least address them in some meaningful way, I fear that we leave our children at risk going into the next school year,” Villalba said.
Villalba said he would like for lawmakers to look at a way to better flag people on the verge of committing a mass shooting and expand the school marshal program that he helped create that allows certified school employees to carry guns.
Villalba also wants to look at ways to “harden” schools and provide state funding to increase security.
“Those are the kinds of things we can do immediately that have an impact on this,” Villalba said.
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Villalba said he would also like to look at ways to improve reporting during the background check process and make gun owners whose guns are used to commit a mass shooting more responsible.
