TEA vulnerability review yields limited findings; district may face campus window/film work

Agent Jeff Millslegle, Tyler ISD Director of Safety and Security, briefed the board on a recent on-site vulnerability assessment by the Texas Education Agency School Safety and Security team. Millslegle said TEA reviewers examined thousands of documents and visited nearly every campus; oral findings included that the district improvement plan needed a dating policy and that roles of law enforcement should be clarified in district documents.

Millslegle warned that some TEA findings could affect the operating budget: TEA has indicated exterior secured areas (for example, gated courtyards) may be considered indoor spaces under current guidance and therefore could require window film, caulking and renumbering. He noted a neighboring district recently received the same requirement and the vendor who performs that work will visit Tyler ISD next week.

On operational readiness, Millslegle reported Tyler ISD passed monthly intruder audits at 100% and said the TEA lead complimented the district for the performance. He also noted the district will update emergency operation plans and adopt the statewide standard response protocol; TEA recommended updates to EOP templates and a new reunification annex that staff will implement and train on in September.

Millslegle said some corrective items identified in the TEA assessment were limited in scope and that staff will return to the board with any budget requests tied to the findings.

Board members were given the opportunity to ask questions; staff noted that certain corrections will appear in the consent docket for later action.