Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced the launch of Sentinel, a comprehensive system designed to enhance the safety and security of students, faculty and staff in school buildings across Texas.
Sentinel is provided by the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) Office of School Safety and Security and is available to all schools in the state at no charge to the schools. Sentinel will enable robust monitoring of school systems' implementation and operation of safety and security policies and improves the threat assessment process.
Sentinel standardizes Behavioral Threat Assessments (BTAs) into a single reporting mechanism so that schools have a clear way of conducting BTAs and managing threats. This uniform approach helps school systems identify, assess and mitigate risks to students and staff.
In addition, Sentinel will serve an important role in statewide emergency operations by giving state leaders timely and accurate information to support quick decision-making regarding resource allocation and support. Schools will be informed in the event of a local or statewide emergency through Sentinel's mass communications capability. This will enable TEA to securely communicate guidance, resources or other important information to schools.
Sentinel was developed following the passage of House Bill 3, which strengthened state monitoring of school safety and increased the school safety allotment. Senate Bill 30 provided an additional $1.1 billion for school systems to bolster the safety of their facilities.
In 2022, Abbott directed TEA Commissioner Mike Morath to create the position of Chief of School Safety and Security to ensure increased communication and collaboration among state agencies to provide a safe environment for Texas students and school faculty.
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