Safety & Security

As schools experience teachable moments with the pandemic, make sure you know how to continue your critical operations.

School districts are working hard to support social distancing efforts while providing a quality education during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a previous post, we explained how staff can make their home offices safer. Employees who cannot work remotely are also being exposed to hazards associated with the pandemic.

What happens if school security and public health best practices conflict? Chief Jeffrey Yarbrough of the Round Rock ISD police department shares his insights.

Schools are popular polling places. The process of ensuring safety and security starts before the election and continues after the final vote is cast.

Senate Bill 11 and Texas Education Agency rules released in July 2020 gave districts updated guidance regarding safety drills.

An investment in air quality can improve attendance, extend facility and equipment lifecycles, strengthen community confidence, and protect staff and student health. Here are five simple things that will go a long way toward controlling pollutants. 

Working remotely is not as simple as just bringing home a laptop. To help with this change, here are our tips to help you safely work at home during COVID-19.

Alcohol, which is hand sanitizer’s key germ-fighting ingredient, also presents a potential fire risk. If your organization purchased hand sanitizer in bulk, you should know how to store it safely.

West Nile Virus is a rising public health risk across Texas. Here are our tips for protecting and preventing the spread of the virus.

Respiratory protection promotes staff and student safety during the pandemic. If you want to get the most value out of masks, everyone needs to understand their limitations and use them correctly.

Safe and prepared schools improve the learning environment and make communities a safer place in emergency situations. Here are our tips to help you make preparedness part of the daily routine.

Don't let workplace accidents injure your employees. Instead, develop an accident prevention plan to protect your workers and avoid unnecessary expenses.

A school-based health program is one of the most effective tools against potentially contagious diseases. As part of your program, collaborate with public health officials to develop a public health and medical plan and adopt it as an annex to your emergency operations plan.

The rapidly evolving pandemic underscores the importance of planning for a variety of scenarios. Exercises are critical because they help schools identify vulnerabilities, address prevention and mitigation strategies, practice response procedures, and isolate resources needed for recovery.

School administrators are preparing for one of the most unusual school years on record. Whether your classes are conducted in-person or online this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way Texas schools think about safety. As you make your preparations, we want to provide you with quick tips and expertise to help you keep your employees and students safe during this uncertain year.

Whether threatened by a hurricane or by the resulting wind, rain, tornadoes, or floods, you should prepare for the potential impact of such a storm.

Schools should be safe spaces where students are free to learn, grow, and develop. But districts must also be prepared for emergencies of all kinds, which is why Texas requires all school districts and community colleges to develop an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). An EOP is a critical resource to help you protect your students and employees in all situations.

Texas has its fair share of annoying insects, which can pose serious threats to routine maintenance and landscape projects. You should be aware of potential pest-related risks at your school district or community college and ways to manage them so that you can ensure the safety of your employees, students, and property.

Fund members looking to prevent employee back injuries commonly ask our risk solutions consultants whether they recommend back support belts. The short answer is no. The reason is that it generally makes more sense to fix the source of a problem rather than spend time, effort, and resources trying to reduce the impact of the problem. The same logic applies to back belts.

Texans might not be strangers to intense summer heat, but when it comes to working outside in your school district or community college, there are many heat-related risks to consider. With frequent construction, road work, and other outdoor activities happening, make sure you understand the risks of heat-related injuries and do all you can to keep employees safe in the summer sun.

COVID-19 has changed the way we work. Learn how to complete critical summer maintenance projects and protect employees' safety.

Districts and community colleges must submit their safety and security audits by November 15, 2020. Here are some essentials that will help you complete your audit timely and accurately.

Staff and student safety can be compromised if chemicals are mislabeled, expired, or stored improperly. Mismanaged chemicals can also saddle organizations with unbudgeted costs. Follow these steps to clean out your chemical inventory safely and cost-effectively.

Districts are required to establish a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team to serve at each campus. The team helps prevent tragedy by supporting individuals who show signs of harming themselves, others, or both.

The Fund partners with our members to provide safe and secure places to learn and work. Our commitment includes explaining how security-related legislation impacts your organization. In this two-part InsideRM series, we will dig into Senate Bill (SB) 11, the most comprehensive security-related bill passed during the 2019 legislative session.

Flooding can result in serious vehicle and property claims, health concerns, school closures, and many other outcomes that could negatively impact your organization. It is important to know risks, be aware of your coverage, and have a plan in place in the event that your organization is impacted by a flood.

The rapid, global spread of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, has generated uncertainty and fear among employees across industries. Additionally, the health and safety measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have seen millions of workers leave their offices for work-from-home or other telecommuting options.

As director of behavioral health at Round Rock ISD, Amy Grosso, PhD specializes in supporting students who carry the weight of emotions such as depression, grief, anger, and anxiety. She also knows she has to invest in her own emotional well-being as the coronavirus pandemic forces her to adapt to a new reality.

During the last legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed two cybersecurity-related bills school districts need to know about. Senate Bill 820 and House Bill 3834 will set new standards and requirements that strengthen districts’ ability to protect sensitive data. At TASB, we are monitoring the legislation’s rollout and preparing our members to fulfill their obligations. We encourage you to share this snapshot of the latest developments with your leadership and information technology teams.                  

Millions of people are working remotely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Technology enables us to continue doing our jobs despite social distancing recommended by health care experts. Zoom, GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, and Skype are some of the software platforms that allow people to connect with their colleagues in live video chats and webinars.

It only takes a quick look at recent headlines to realize that cybercriminal activity is on the rise. According to an annual cybersecurity report from CPO Magazine, in the US alone, there is a ransomware attack every 14 seconds.

Schools have been instructed to close as part of the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Many districts are taking the opportunity to deep clean facilities while the halls are empty and employees across the state are working from home.

Every year on the second Sunday in March, Americans in 48 states move our clocks ahead one hour in observance of Daylight Saving Time. And every year on the first Sunday in November, like clockwork, we move them back one hour and return to Standard Time. All of that falling back and springing forward sparks mixed reactions.

Winter brings a welcome reprieve from soaring temperatures and suffocating humidity. For educational entities, cold weather also increases the risk of vehicle damage, burst pipes, collapsed roofs, and employee injuries. The Fund encourages our members to follow these tips to avoid filing unnecessary claims, repairing damage, and investing resources in returning to normal operations.

During the 86th Legislative Session, lawmakers passed a series of bills promoting school safety and security. The most prominent piece of legislation was Senate Bill (SB) 11. The comprehensive bill emphasizes collaboration and mental health, and several tactics for shoring up districts’ emergency operations plans.

It’s that time of year again! As we all work hard to ensure our taxes are in order, cybercriminals are looking to claim their own returns. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), hackers have stolen W2s from approximately 1,000 employers since 2017. As a result, the tax information for hundreds of thousands of employees, many of them from school districts, has been compromised. The IRS estimates that this string of identity theft has led to over 1.5 million fraudulent tax returns and more than $2.3 billion in bogus refunds. We encourage TASB Risk Management Fund members to follow these tips for protecting employees’ sensitive information this tax season.

Teacher salaries, student transportation, and facilities maintenance are just a handful of the many line items on school districts’ budgets. Right now, criminals could be trying to steal your much-needed funds and, ultimately, compromise your ability to deliver a quality education to Texas school children.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), flu activity is increasing across the state. With flu season typically peaking in January or February, organizations should be mindful of best practices for flu prevention and mitigation.

Have you made a new year’s resolution to ramp up your risk management program? Our experts are here to help. Use this list of do’s and don’ts to control the costs associated with workplace accidents, data breaches, property damage, and other incidents in 2020 and beyond.

Use these tips to control the costs associated with workplace accidents, data breaches, property damage, and other incidents in 2020 and beyond.

Whether they lead science class experiments, strip gymnasium floors, or maintain swimming pools, school employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals every day. The Texas Hazard Communication Act (THCA) requires schools to provide employees with information, training, and personal protective equipment to keep them safe. You can avoid costly penalties and, more importantly, protect your employees if you understand and comply with these THCA requirements.

What would the holidays be without decorations, potlucks, and other special events? As you get ready for holiday festivities on and off campus, take steps to protect your organization's vehicles, property, students, staff, and data.

With the holiday season in full swing, school districts should remain on high alert for cybercriminals looking to take advantage of the hustle and bustle. We recently saw a trend in phishing campaigns against Texas schools that resulted in significant financial loss. We encourage everyone to take extra precautions to avoid landing on Santa’s naughty list, or worse, falling victim to cyberattacks during the holidays.

In June 2019, the Texas legislature passed HB 3834, which requires annual cybersecurity training for elected officials as well as school district employees. The required annual cybersecurity training must be completed by June 14, 2020.

So often, when people hear the term cybersecurity, they think of digital attacks against electronic information systems secured by sophisticated software. Though this description is accurate, it isn’t comprehensive. Cybersecurity also includes non-digital elements, such as physical security and human psychology. In fact, one of the most common cyber scams, known as phishing, relies on deception to manipulate people into sharing confidential or personal information through email.

Your organization’s laptops and mobile devices house personally identifiable information (PII) such as birthdates, addresses, social security numbers, medical records, and bank account numbers. If you sell, donate, or dispose of electronic devices without properly wiping them clean, all that PII goes with them.

Science labs, as well as vocational instruction areas, contain toxic, corrosive, flammable, reactive, and poisonous chemicals that are used for a variety of reasons. The law prohibits hazardous chemicals from being poured down the drain or thrown in the trash. That does not mean excess and expired chemicals should gather dust on long-forgotten shelves. If you are looking for a safe, legal way to dispose of hazardous chemicals, consider lab packing.

Cybersecurity isn’t just a technical problem. It’s a people problem, and it’s impacting school districts across the state. TASB Privacy and Cyber Risk Consultant Lucas Anderson recently shared his expertise on this topic during a TASB Talks podcast.

A community approach to building safe and secure schools benefits principals and helps prepare for a variety of emergencies. Managing budgets, evaluating staff, and implementing academic programs are just a handful of duties competing for campus administrators’ attention. They also must carve out time for an extremely important responsibility: ensuring schools remain safe. Too often, administrators shoulder that responsibility alone, but new requirements from the 86th Session of the Texas Legislature encourages community partnerships to increase the safety of schools.

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) reports that over the weekend, 23 governmental entities were hit with a ransomware attack.

Administrators, teachers, support staff, and students aren’t the only Texans going back to school this time of year. As summer winds down, more than 6,000 crossing guards are reporting to their posts on street corners across the state.

Chief William Edwards has seen firsthand the power of school-based law enforcement (SBLE) to make campuses safer and more secure. He helped establish the Pflugerville ISD Police Department in 2008 and served as its chief for over eight years. In 2017, Edwards answered Hippo Nation’s call to lead the Hutto ISD police department. In this article, he uses his expertise to answer a few questions about school-based law enforcement.

Cybersecurity and school safety and security were major topics during the 86th Session of the Texas Legislature–two bills were passed related to these topics that require additional staff training. Summaries of these bills are provided below.

Law enforcement has a long history of working with schools to enhance safety and security. While the tactics have changed, the goal of School-Based Law Enforcement (SBLE) initiatives such as school resource officer programs and campus police has stayed the same: to improve relationships between local police and youth.

Summer school, meetings, camps, and sporting events are just some of the activities that will soon play out on campuses across Texas. As schools continue to open their doors to the community this summer, it is important to keep safety and security as much a priority as it is during the school year.

Imagine someone breaking into your house, staying there undetected for four years, and stealing from you the entire time. That is exactly what happened to global hotel chain Marriott, virtually speaking.

Texas public schools face many daily challenges to functioning smoothly. Out of necessity, key players at school districts and other educational entities wear many hats. A single employee may play the role of a teacher, coach, and driver. One key factor to understand is that these staff members are primed for distraction—and distracted driving can be deadly.

In the wake of the most recent outbreak of measles in the United States, health officials are issuing health alerts and urging immunizations against this highly contagious illness.

We often receive questions from Fund members about buying or renting inflatable bounce houses or moon walks for school carnivals or celebrations. Sometimes these events are managed by the school and sometimes by a parent organization or booster club.   

Employees in the education sector navigate workplace hazards every day. Groundskeepers work in the elements, science teachers mix volatile chemicals, and trained maintenance personnel repair or replace faulty outlets and circuit breakers. Still, the leading cause of workplace injuries has nothing to do with heat indexes, hydrochloric acid, or high-voltage electricity.

The day started like any other. Staff arrived at school and prepared for the business of educating young minds. But when they tried to log into their computers, they realized someone arrived long before them, wrapped up their own business, locked the computers, and left an ominous message behind: “The files on this computer have been encrypted. You have seven days to submit payment via bitcoin or all files will be permanently deleted.”

Student privacy and school security should go hand-in-hand as you create and evaluate your emergency operations plans. The new year is a perfect time to ensure balance between these two important responsibilities by reviewing your policies and procedures.

New Year’s Resolutions often go by the wayside by mid-January, but that doesn’t mean the resolutions should be abandoned. This is especially important when it comes to plans related to health, safety, and security. It’s not too late to develop resolutions that help ensure our schools remain healthy, safe, and secure environments. Let common sense and these recommendations not only guide you into a safe new year, but also give you a head start on this year’s audit process. 

Decorations fill the school hallways as part of the festivities of Halloween. Amid the fun, games, and excitement, it is easy to overlook safety and security practices. Let common sense and these basic reminders guide you in making Halloween a safe and fun event for everyone.

The TASB Risk Management Fund hosted a safety and security summit September 13, 2018, at the Austin Marriott North in Round Rock and online. There were 120 on-site attendees and approximately 100 virtual attendees, consisting of Texas school administrators and their law enforcement community. The summit featured a variety of speakers who highlighted the importance of facilitating collaboration and communication to keep schools safe.

While most people are probably aware of the potential consequences of driving while intoxicated, many may not know that fatigue can have the same impact on judgement and reaction times. The TASB Risk Management Fund (Fund) recommends that all drivers get an adequate amount of rest and pay attention to signs of driver fatigue, whether you are a bus driver, teacher, superintendent, or in another position at your organization.

Extracurricular activities, such as team building activities and volunteer events, often spark unique and interesting questions about workers’ compensation coverage. Here, we offer answers to the most common question as well as practical tips for supervisors to consider related to workers’ compensation coverage and special events and activities.

The end of summer is quickly approaching, and those in public education are shifting back into their academic lives. Maintaining and enhancing safety in your schools should be an ongoing process, but August is always a good time to focus on starting the year with safety. This includes workplace safety, student safety, and employee safety.

Workplace safety starts with making sure that employees are enforcing safety procedures. This includes everyone from superintendents to principals, teachers, food service staff, and bus drivers.

When Dennis Williams began his career in education in Beaumont 17 years ago, he had no idea that interaction with local law enforcement would become a regular part of his school schedule. Collaboration with law enforcement is an important part of his duties as assistant superintendent of Administrative and Pupil Services at Longview ISD, and this partnership has bolstered safety and security across the district’s campuses. The emphasis placed on partnering with law enforcement reflects the changing attitudes of what constitutes a safe, healthy learning environment and how the role of schools in their respective communities has changed.

To ensure a safe and healthy learning environment, school districts and community colleges must take steps to mitigate incidents, such as fires, by performing regular fire surveys and working with the local Fire Marshal to ensure that they are meeting the fire code where they are located.

As school districts and other educational entities get ready for the holidays, safety and security must be an ongoing effort. Let this poem serve as a reminder of the steps needed to ensure a safe and healthy holiday season.

Slips, trips and falls cause an estimated 10 percent of injuries nationally, and one occurs nearly every three seconds. 

Falling from one foot or five feet does not seem to be a big deal to many people, but the impact is greater than you think. Falls do not just cause scrapes and bruises; people can become permanently disabled or even killed, resulting in millions of dollars lost each year to these avoidable accidents. 

Bullying is a pervasive problem in schools. School districts and other educational entities should appropriately address bullying as early as possible to prevent or otherwise lessen the negative impact such acts may have on the learning environment.

Each one of us has been involved in an accident. Maybe something happened on the road or at work. Maybe it was a “near-miss,” or perhaps it caused an injury like a minor burn or scrape, or worse and required a visit to the emergency room. How often do we take the time to retrace the events that led up to an accident? Do we try to learn from the close calls? Chances are the more minor an accident is, the less we think about it.

Have you ever been on a long road trip with few pit stops? And when you finally get out of the vehicle, you feel almost like you’ve been run over by one of the many motorists that you’ve encountered? If so, here are a few tips that might make that next long drive a bit more comfortable.  

 When you think about lead in schools, the image that may pop into your head is of a pencil. But pencils don’t actually contain any lead; they use a nontoxic substance called graphite. Lead is a toxic metal that was utilized in plumbing components, paint, ammunition manufacturing, fishing tackle, and gasoline. Even though products containing lead have been phasing out of the market for years, there may still be lead based paint or lead plumbing components in our schools.

Certain times of year bring sniffles, watery eyes, stuffy heads, and coughing fits. These could be symptoms of allergies, or in some instances, signs of more serious issues. The exposure source could be outside, at home, in the car, at school, or any combination of these locations. While there are limited options for managing outdoor air quality, school officials do have the ability and responsibility to provide healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) for all staff and students.

When disaster strikes, people’s natural instinct is to help in any way possible. Psychologists suggest a variety of reasons for this behavior, including the need to be part of something bigger and to feel connected to the area affected. Regardless of the reason, communities affected by disasters should be prepared for an outpouring of support that may include spontaneous and unsolicited volunteers. It is important to prepare a plan for how to manage the volunteer process. 

When funding is tight and budgets are under scrutiny, it can be tempting to cut corners wherever possible. This is especially true when educational quality and jobs are on the line. However, it is important to keep in mind that a short-term gain can result in long-term pain.

In the wake of disasters, people want to help. Make sure you know what to do to manage their donations effectively.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a part of the United States Department of Labor (US DOL), which covers private sector employers and their workers in Texas. Political Subdivisions, including school districts and community colleges, and their employees do not fall under OSHA jurisdiction and are not subject to these regulations.

With the release of the Texas School Safety Center’s (TxSSC) District Audit Report (DAR) tool, it is important to remember that the audit process is more than a data collection tool for the Texas School Safety Center’s report to the State legislature. It represents the culmination of school district’s efforts to have campuses that are safe and secure environments in which to learn and work.

Every three years, districts need to complete their School Safety and Security Audit, commonly known as the District Audit Report. It is the point when a school district’s ongoing audit process and the audit report intersect, highlighting the reasons why the audit process must be ongoing and proactive.

We know winter can bring inclement weather that creates hazardous situations for staff and students. We have learned to be proactive and stay alert to storms and the visible hazards of the season, but we often dismiss the hazards we cannot see.

While Zika virus is not common in Texas, it serves as a reminder that many mosquito-borne diseases can affect the health and safety of Texas’ students, faculty, and staff. As such, it is important to be ever-vigilant when it comes to vector-borne diseases, which are diseases or illnesses typically transmitted by biting insects or ticks.

Effective Jan. 1, 2016, House Bill (HB) 910 of the 84th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature requires districts that want to pursue trespass charges specifically relating to openly carried handguns to post notices “in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public at each entrance to the property.” The text prescribed by Texas Penal Code 30.06 (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun) was updated and a new posting under 30.07 (trespass by license holder with openly carried handgun) was created.

During the past several years, Texas has experienced severe weather events that have caused extensive damage from hail. Unfortunately, Texas school districts have not been immune from these events. Weather reports indicate that on April 11, 2016, almost 200 locations were affected by hail varying in size from 1 to 3.5 inches.

Preventative maintenance helps minimize the adverse effects of breakdowns and increases facility functionality. When maintenance departments perform regularly scheduled upkeep on facilities, it can maximize life cycles of equipment and brick and mortar assets.

The beginning of the academic year and the calendar year are both great times to start fresh, take an inventory of the safety risks on your campus, and resolve to take actions to remedy any shortcomings

Headlines such as “No Regular Emergency Drills at Some Texas Schools,” and “Some Area Schools Miss Required Safety Drills” can be devastating to school districts and cause parents to lose faith in the district’s ability to keep students safe.

During the past year, there have been many emergency incidents affecting Texas schools and other educational entities. From the wildfires in Bastrop to ice storms that affected a much larger area of central Texas, incidents of violence to severe storms and tornados, school districts and other educational institutions must be prepared to respond effectively and work closely with local responders to ensure that incidents are managed effectively.