LONGVIEW, Texas — An East Texas school district has had a plan that allows select teachers and staff to be armed as a protective measure to ensure students' safety.
At the beginning of 2021, Pine Tree ISD became one of the Texas school districts to officially implement the "Guardian Plan". Through this plan, teachers or other staff members would be allowed to legally carry firearms during school.
It's a very rigorous process to be selected, with background checks, interviews, and many training hours. However, Pine Tree ISD Safety Director Jack Irvin says the plan has been a great success so far.
They've also added signs up on their campuses that notify people that members of their staff are armed, and will do anything necessary to protect their students. Irvin says that has been the biggest deterrent so far for those to intrude.
"Our biggest deterrent are the signs on the buildings. We wanted something to really grab people's attention," said Irvin. "If there was someone planning on hurting our kids, we want them to know up front that we plan on protecting them."
A big part of the Guardian Plan is the anonymous aspect of it. When asked about specifics, Irvin wouldn't budge. He said that keeping it secretive is the best plan in allowing the process to be successful.
"We want our guardians to be anonymous and secretive. We don't want everybody knowing who they are. I will say that some actively carry and some just have access to it."
With recent school shootings happening all over the nation, it's hard to predict what may happen and where. But Irvin is confident that the Guardian Plan is keeping it's students and staff safe and will continue to do so.