Last week, Amarillo Independent School District trustees voted to create a police force for the school district.
Under a resolution unanimously adopted by the Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees, staff members from AISD’s safety and security office would be included in law enforcement jurisdictions in Amarillo and parts of Potter and Randall counties. Presently, the office employs two staff members, both of whom are commissioned peace officers from the Randall County Sheriff’s Office based just south of Amarillo.
According to AISD Superintendent Doug Loomis, the move would not affect the district’s school liaison program with the Amarillo Police Department, which currently provides 13 officers to AISD campuses. Loomis said those officers would continue to report to APD, while AISD officers would report directly to the district.
AISD is now expected to apply to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to create the new police force, with officials saying the department could be created as soon as this fall.
If the AISD police force is approved and created, the district would join a small number of school districts across Texas that currently operate their own police departments. The Texas Association of School Resource Officers website currently lists 12 school districts as member districts operating ISD-based police departments.
