AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – Amarillo ISD renewed its Good Cause Exception, allowing the district to use alternatives to the state requirement for an armed officer on every campus.The district renewed the exception to give it more flexibility to meet state school safety requirements.In 2023, Texas required districts to have an armed security officer at every public school campus under House Bill 3. Many smaller districts struggled to meet the requirements due to funding or a lack of available officers.Several districts adopted the Good Cause Exception and created alternative plans. The exception allowed a district to not follow the state’s requirement but must adopt a different safety standard.“House Bill 3 requires every campus to have armed security, which we do at most campuses with our AISD police force as well as the city of Amarillo police. But we can’t quite cover them all because it is an underfunded mandate,” said Jon Mark Beilue, Amarillo ISD board president.“It’s not just having officers there for the worst days, but having officers that can build relationships and carry those relationships from elementary to middle school into high school. And that by itself improves safety more than people can, more than you can put pen and paper to and really put numbers to,” said Chief Ramey Rice, Amarillo ISD police department.Many districts have implemented trained school employees who are authorized to carry a handgun on school grounds.Amarillo ISD utilizes its teachers under the guardian/defender program and says they do have an officer assigned to every campus, even if they are not stationed at the school.“We have two priorities, to educate your child and to keep them safe. When a parent sends their child over to the school in the morning, that is the most precious asset that they have. And so it is incumbent upon a school district to protect that child in the best way that we can so the parents will know that they are safe and secure. We’re taking every measure to do that,” said Beilue.The district police department has grown and says it will continue to grow over the next several years with the goal to get closer to the state’s requirement.Copyright 2026 KFDA. All rights reserved.
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