IOLA, Texas — After the events of the Uvalde school shooting in May, some school districts have shared with parents and students about their protection plans ahead of the upcoming school year.
Iola ISD is one of several school districts in Grimes County and the Brazos Valley to have The Guardian Plan in place.
Jeff Dyer, the Superintendent for Iola ISD, said this school year will mark the fifth year the district has had the initiative put in place for their campus.
According to Dyer, the plan allows districts to make decisions that has allowed some of their educators to carry a firearm while on campus. However, the names of these educators are not shared with the public for safety reasons.
According to Dyer, the process to become a “guardian” is an extensive process with several steps for those educators wanting to carry a firearm on campus. The first requirement he highlighted was that the educator must have their License-to-Carry.
Following proof of their License-to-Carry, a background check and psychological test must be taken to determine the best candidates for these programs.
Iola ISD is one of several school districts that put The Guardian Plan in place both before and after the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022. Dyer said that he never could’ve imagined steps like this would need to be taken when he was in the classroom.
The Superintendent's biggest hope going forward is to see classrooms return to normal after the events in May.
"It's a sad day in education when we have to arm teachers. I never thought when I got into this business, thirty years ago that we'd have teachers carrying weapons on campus that never occurred to me. But as our society changes, our teachers adapt and this is what we have to do now,” said Dyer.
According to Dyer, school districts across Texas are checking their locks on the doors of their campuses to ensure their functionality in order to keep intruders from entering their buildings in the future.
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