Schools revisit security concerns after Santa Fe HS shooting

North Texas school districts have already been looking at ways to improve school security.

Districts like Ennis and Garland ISD implemented new security measures for next school year. Next week, Dallas ISD will hold an active shooter training for 6,000 students.

Fresh off the deadly school shooting in Santa Fe, school security experts are already anticipating what they can learn. But there are protocols local districts have already put into place.

“Avoid the shooter,” said Fort Worth ISD Spokesperson Clint Bond. “You deny the shooter access to areas where you are, or you get ready to fight for your life.”

Fort Worth ISD started using a training program a few years ago called "Avoid, Deny, Defend" that was developed from the Virginia Tech shootings.

“Our job is to educate children and to protect children. We'll let the police and the fire departments and the experts worry about that,” Bond said. “What we want to make sure is that we have a way of evacuating children. Or if we have to, securing them in place to keep them as safe as possible.”

Dallas ISD told FOX 4 they recently reviewed their security measures and launched a campaign that will include active shooter training.

Shortly after the Parkland school shooting, Ennis ISD announced security changes. They immediately began doing random student searches. Starting next school year, students will be required to use clear backpacks and wear their school IDs. Classroom doors will be locked during the school day, and the district will have more school security officers, cameras and visits from search dogs.

Garland ISD has been adding roughly $36 million of security upgrades to its schools as a part of the 2014 bond program. They are adding a thousand new cameras, securing entrances, upgrading existing cameras and other enhancements to doors and the PA system.

But school security experts say protecting schools goes beyond just adding hardware.

“Good school security is a people issue as much as it is a product/hardware issues,” said Ken Trump, the president of the National School Safety and Security Services. “The number one way we find out about a weapon or a plot is when kids come forward and tell an adult they trust, not through a metal detector. We need to make sure we have a greater focus on mental detectors, not metal detectors, and we're looking at mental health needs.”

Security experts also say the number one thing making sure everyone in the school from students and teachers to cafeteria workers and other staff knows their role in an emergency.

Dallas ISD will be holding an active shooter and situational awareness training on Monday where students will hear from local police, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.