Silverton ISD board renews good-cause exemption on armed security officers under new state requirement

On Sept. 15, 2025, the Silverton Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to renew a resolution claiming a good-cause exemption from Texas Education Code section 37.0814, which requires at least one armed security officer on each school campus. The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Dusty Martin and seconded by Matt Francis; the motion passed with the recorded yea votes of the trustees listed in the minutes.

The board’s written resolution cites the amendments to section 37.0814 enacted by HB 121 (89th Legislature), effective Sept. 1, 2025, and records the board’s evaluation of the district’s current and projected revenue and the estimated cost to retain an armed security officer. The resolution states, in part, “the Board renews its claims for a good cause exception from the requirement to comply with section 37.0814 by reason of lack of funding and lack of personnel who qualify to serve as a security officer,” and renews the district’s alternative standard adopted previously on Aug. 8, 2023.

The resolution also directs and authorizes the superintendent to take any and all action necessary to maintain compliance with section 37.0814 as amended. The board’s finding, as recorded in the resolution text, is that the district currently lacks both sufficient funding and available personnel who qualify under the statute to meet the requirement of an armed security officer on each campus.

The resolution was passed and approved by the board at the Sept. 15, 2025 meeting.