Gov. Abbott Announces New “Sentinel” Texas School Safety System

Gov. Abbott this morning announced the launch of Sentinel, which he described as “an innovative and comprehensive system designed to enhance the safety and security of students, faculty and staff in school buildings across Texas.”

Sentinel is provided by the TEA’s Office of School Safety and Security and is available to all schools in the state at no charge.

Some of Sentinel’s listed features include:

• Standardizing behavioral threat assessments (BTA) into a single reporting mechanism so that schools have a clear way of conducting BTAs and managing threats — to help schools identify, assess and mitigate risks to students and staff.

• Serving an important role in statewide emergency operations by giving state leaders timely and accurate information to support quick decision making.
  
  
• Allowing schools to be quickly informed in the event of a local or statewide emergency through Sentinel’s mass communications capability. This will enable TEA to securely communicate guidance, resources or other important information to schools.

The TEA has posted additional info about Sentinel here.