The Texas Unified School Safety and Security Standards provide a set of criteria to assist school districts in developing and implementing a comprehensive emergency management program in keeping with laws, mandates, directives and best practices. The framework of the Standards is based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which makes district emergency operations compatible with those of other governmental, private, and volunteer entities providing the best possible safety for students, staff, and visitors. The Standards are mapped to the four phases of emergency management: Mitigation/Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

The Standards have helped guide the development of state, district and campus level emergency preparedness and safety programs since 2007. At that time, the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) steered a collaborative effort among local, regional and state stakeholders to help Texas schools address emerging state and federal mandates related to school safety and emergency management.

The resulting product was a set of Standards based in best practices and the law that schools could use to advance a well prepared and protected learning environment for students and staff. This guidance became the foundation of the Texas Unified School Safety and Security Standards.

The Standards continue to provide criteria to support school districts in developing, implementing and sustaining a comprehensive school emergency management program. To remain relevant, the Standards receive regular review and biennial updates with input from school and community stakeholders involved in keeping schools safe and secure. The Standards remain a living document and at each review meeting the Center seeks stakeholder input to ensure that the Standards remain a viable tool, reflective of the ever changing demands that are part of keeping schools safe and secure. Revised versions of the Standards are posted in even numbered years (if revisions are deemed necessary), which also allows the Center to ensure that the Standards reflect legislative updates that occurred in the previous years session.