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Texas School Safety Center releases Fall Intruder Detection Audit

After 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in May 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered random inspections at schools

AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The above video was published in October 2022.

Texans now have a clearer picture of how many schools are complying with state safety directives after the Texas School Safety Center released its Fall Intruder Detection Audit on Wednesday.

It's a story the KVUE Defenders have been following.

These unannounced random inspections are a result of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde last year. On May 24, 2022, a gunman shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in the small Texas town.

Days later, on June 1, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency and the Texas School Safety Center to conduct these inspections.

Part of what inspectors looked for were unlocked exterior doors. 

The 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde was able to walk through an unlocked exterior door at the school. We later learned that the door lock was broken.

From September to December 2022, inspectors visited 2,864 campuses. Out of those, inspectors could not walk onto the campus or gain unauthorized access 95.3% of the time. 

Inspectors were able to gain unauthorized access to the visited campuses 4.7% of the time, which is equivalent to 136 campuses. 

The report also stated that inspectors found 84.6% of campuses checked had their exterior doors locked, while 15.4% had unlocked exterior doors.

The report also broke down more data, finding that 3.7% of checked exterior doors were broken and 13.8% of exterior doors were propped open.

Inspectors aren't finished yet. The goal is for them to visit 100% of school districts and 75% of campuses in Texas by this May.

Read the Fall Intruder Detection Audit in full.

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