3 Final District Audit Report Action Items

This is the third and final installment in our series supporting Fund members schools during the district audit report. You’ll get insider’s tips for completing the final three steps and submitting your report by the September 15 deadline:

1. Update your emergency operations plan.
2. Report your results to your Board of Trustees.
3. Submit your report to the Texas School Safety Center (TXSSC).

A Quick Look Back

In the first two installments in this series, we broke down spring and summer action items for keeping your district audit report on track. Here’s a quick recap:

• Spring action items included distributing safety and security climate surveys and conducting intruder assessments.
• If possible, you should complete the facility assessments component of the district audit report during the break, so you don’t disrupt learning.

Reminder: Your safety and security committee should meet at least once before school starts.

3 Final Action Items

By submitting your audit results on time, your team will not only comply with the law but also support Texas’ efforts to make schools safer. Here are the final three action items:

Update Your Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

You don’t have to submit your EOP to the TXSSC as part of your audit. As you worked through your spring and summer action items, however, you might have uncovered operational and/or personnel changes that must be reflected in your EOP.

Here are a few examples:

• New safety and security team members
• Title changes that impact your lines of succession
• Buzzer system alters your visitor management protocol

Related resource: EOP Annual Maintenance Checklist offered by the TXSSC

Report Results to Your Board

You must consolidate your district audit report results and present them to your Board of Trustees. The safety and security audit cycle ends on August 31. If you don’t present your results before August 31, put them on the agenda as soon as possible following audit completion or following the end of the audit cycle.

Your district decides which information to present and how to present it in a meaningful way. Small districts might share detailed summaries by campus or facility. Larger districts might choose a high-level summary. You can also visit the online district audit reporting tool, print your submission to the TXSSC, and share it with your board.

Your security audit might contain sensitive information about vulnerabilities identified in the district, school, or facility.  It is important to limit sharing of sensitive information, so Texas Government Code Chapter 551.076 provides that deliberation regarding security devices or security audits may be conducted in a closed session. To prove compliance, keep documentation showing when you presented audit information to your board.

Submit Your Audit to the TXSSC

Make sure your safety and security committee reviews audit results for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Then, submit your results to the TXSSC by September 15. Use the district audit reporting tool link and access code the TXSSC emailed to your superintendent.

What’s Next?

When you submit your audit by the September 15 deadline, your work isn’t quite finished. Strong security programs constantly evolve to address the changing risk landscape:

• You might uncover security gaps or improvement opportunities during your audit. Commit the time and resources necessary to address those gaps and shore up your program.
• The law requires school districts to complete a district audit report every three years. The next audit will be due in 2026, but don’t wait to get started.  If you work on the audit components as time allows, you can avoid a stressful, late push to comply with the deadline. You can also establish security as a year-round value in your district.
• Looking ahead to this fall, districts will be required to submit parts of their EOP to the TXSSC for review. We also anticipate the Texas Education Agency will again require districts to conduct weekly door checks when school starts.

Resources

The TXSSC offers toolkits covering school safety and security topics such as threat assessment teams, emergency operations plans, active threat annexes, and mental health. You can also visit the federal School Safety website, which serves as a clearinghouse of information that helps schools develop safety strategies. You can search resources by topic and state.