Schools are required to source a contractor by August 2023, and $400 million in grants is available for the window upgrades.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is now mandating that each school district and open-enrollment charter school install entry-resistant film on ground-floor windows, glass doors, and windows near glass doors.

Specifically, TEA is requiring that, “Windowed doors on the ground level or windows that are adjacent to or near a door and are large enough to allow someone to enter if broken must be reinforced with entry resistant film unless within a secured area.”

School systems are required to source a contractor by August 2023, and $400 million in grant funding is being offered by the state to help districts in “replacing or upgrading doors, windows, fencing, communications, and other safety measures to get compliant with the new Texas school safety standards establish in November of 2022.” reports NGS.

A study conducted last year by Campus Safety found that 43% of the school, college, and healthcare facility professionals surveyed believed their glass doors and windows are the security systems most likely to fail during an unauthorized intrusion. Additionally, 35% of respondents said their glass windows and/or doors are broken at least once a quarter.

Security glazing installed on windows and other types of glass openings can help prevent or at least mitigate security incidents involving active shooters, bomb blasts, vandalism, and riots, as well as mitigate damage from high winds and earthquakes. Additionally, depending on the security solution installed, it can help reduce energy costs and help improve occupant comfort.

The window security requirements are in addition to the thousands of unannounced intruder audits Texas is conducting of schools in the state following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last May in which 19 students and two teachers were killed.

To read more about Texas’ School Safety Updates that were published in November, click here.