AUSTIN, Texas — Mandatory intruder detection audits for most Texas school districts are now complete.
In June 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas School Safety Center to conduct these random inspections to find vulnerable access points on campuses after the Robb Elementary School shooting that took 21 lives the month before.
The KVUE Defenders have been following the progress of the audits. The final report showed inspectors conducted random checks at 7,200 campuses from September 2022 to May 2023.
More than 95% of the time, inspectors did not gain access to the schools.
But more than 4% of the time, they did get in. Of those, inspectors entered the schools using a secondary door, like a back door, and not the main entrance more than 88% of the time.
Once they got in, the inspectors, dressed in plain clothes, were not stopped more than 53% of the time. Inspectors took between one to five minutes to gain access more than 88% of the time.
Explore the key findings report below:
Out of the 7,200 campuses visited, 1,455 were in the Hill Country Education Service Center, which is comprised of Regions 12, 13 and 20. Austin ISD and most of the school districts in the KVUE viewing area fall under Region 13.
Most, or nearly 73%, had no corrective actions. A little more than 27% did require corrective actions. A little more than 55% had a policy in place to close and lock doors, whereas a little more than 44% did not have such a policy in place.