Findings on Safety and Security in Texas School Districts

The purpose of the District Audit Report (DAR) is to provide key results of the safety and security audits completed by Texas school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. Texas Education Code (TEC) requires districts to complete safety and security audits of their facilities at least once every three years (37.108(4)(b)) in accordance with procedures developed by the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) or a person listed on the registry maintained by the TxSSC. A summary of the findings is then submitted to the TxSSC and incorporated as aggregate data into a statewide report for the public (37.108(4)(c)) (37.207(3)).

The TxSSC develops the DAR from the aggregated data of submission of all school districts in Texas. The JCAR or Junior College Audit Report is a similar aggregate reporting of results collected through the safety and security audit submission of Texas junior college districts. With the inclusion of open-enrollment charter schools to the safety and security audit requirements of SB 11 (2019), they will use the DARtool to report to the TxSSC at the end of their audit cycle (August 31, 2022).

The model safety and security audit procedures developed by the TxSSC are intended for use by districts to conduct a “self-assessment” of safety and security in their facilities. Currently, neither the TEC nor administrative rules require that school district personnel conducting their safety and security audits hold a specific certification. Districts are encouraged to utilize their own personnel from various disciplines and include a cross-functional group of school personnel and collaborative community partners (e.g. local first responders).

While the term “audit” is included in TEC 37.108 and used throughout the DAR for consistency, the process was developed as an ongoing self-assessment of a district’s safety and security. Audits should be an ongoing process of identifying specific district, campus, or facility hazards, threats, and vulnerabilities and making improvements in safety and security plans and processes.

Please click the link below to view the past DAR reports.