AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas Education Agency is asking lawmakers for $54 million to pay for school safety initiatives in a request just months after deadly gunfire on a campus.
The Houston Chronicle reports the TEA made the request Thursday in its legislative budget request.
The May attack at Santa Fe High School left 10 students and staff dead. A suspect who was a student remains in custody.
TEA officials say the money is needed for the Safe and Healthy Schools Initiative. The effort supports mental health services, a positive school culture, facilities safety and emergency response coordination.
TEA wants the funds to add counselors and mental professionals, plus possible expansion of the school marshal program to provide firearms training to teachers and allow them to be armed on campus.
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