AUSTIN – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement today following the Texas Senate’s unanimous passage of Senate Bill 11, Keeping our Schools Safe and Secure, by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville:

“Texans have been reminded far too often that evil exists and that we live in a broken world. SB 11 is a top priority of mine and of all 31 Senators because it represents a blueprint for our schools to use to harden their facilities moving forward. This is the most robust school-based response framework that Texas has ever designed and is the product of a year’s worth of bipartisan committee research and planning.”

SB 11, by Sen. Nichols, adopts a new structure for schools to increase security. The bill provides additional ongoing resources to schools for hardening, including money to purchase school safety equipment and hiring regionally embedded school safety experts. SB 11 streamlines our school safety response structure and requires superior communication within the school system and with parents relating to school safety. In addition, SB 11 creates the Office of School Safety and Security within the Texas Education Agency to help school districts eliminate vulnerabilities for intrusion and to systematically improve the safety and security of our schools.