Cy‑Fair ISD outlines layered safety measures, readies REACT full‑scale exercise
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Summary
District leaders reviewed layered prevention, identification and response systems — including campus access controls, metal detectors, mental‑health teams, and a 740‑page emergency operations plan — and reminded attendees of a REACT full‑scale exercise scheduled June 3.
The Cypress‑Fairbanks Independent School District presented a high‑level overview of its layered safety and security measures at the spring semester Safety and Security Committee meeting.
The committee chair described a three‑layer approach of prevention, identification and intervention, and response and recovery, saying the district has invested in fencing, access control, vestibules, panic buttons and classroom phones implemented after state legislation. "We take safety and security very seriously," the chair said, adding that the district seeks to "prevent, deter and respond to threats." (Chair)
The chair reported the district police force includes about 117 sworn officers and roughly 30–35 civilian employees, with 24/7 dispatch. He said there are two metal detectors at each high school and one at each middle school, and estimated that, when aggregated across campuses, the district conducts nearly 1,500 drills in a school year across fire, shelter, hazmat and other scenarios.
On identification and intervention, the chair described mental‑health intervention teams, suicide‑risk and behavioral‑threat assessment protocols, and an anonymous tip line with a text‑tip feature in use for about three years. For response and recovery, the chair said the district emergency operations plan and supporting annexes total approximately 740 pages, and that the Berry Center and Pritgen Stadium serve as primary reunification sites.
The chair also noted interoperability steps: district radios use a Kenwood system that can interoperate with the county Motorola system used by public safety partners. The committee was reminded that the Texas School Safety Center is reviewing the district's basic plan and reunification plan later this year as part of a three‑year audit cycle.
The committee also received a reminder that the REACT full‑scale exercise is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3, and that the committee will meet again in the summer semester in July.
