Liberty Hill ISD

• Hiring at least one school resource officer (SRO) for all campuses
• Hiring school safety staff (CSS) to help monitor the perimeter of campuses and buildings
• Emplying a parking lot attendant at the high school to monitor traffic coming onto and leaving campus
• Installation of ballistic security film at campuses
• Upgrading of radio and cell phone communications at campuses
• Upgrade of video surveillance at campuses
• Installation of security fencing at campuses
• Upgrade of district wide key system
• Improved monitoring of student devices for inappropriate and unsafe communication and searches
• Improvement of threat assessment response
• Addition of improved campus signage for directions, emergency response and information
• Additional substitute and staff training sessions on school safety
• Completion of week;ly exterior door checks
• Scheduling all safety response drills before the start of the school year and conducting unannounced drills

The district's first priority in an emergency situation is always the safety and security of students and staff.  Parents will be alerted as soon as possible. Liberty Hill ISD has a number of communication tools that are used to notify parents in case of an emergency. They range from texts, automated phone calls, emails, news alerts or social media posts. Any or all of these communication tools are used depending on the situation. One of the most important things parents can do is to make sure their child's school has the most current contact information, including cell phone, email, emergency contacts, home phone and home address. You can review and update contact information by logging in to LHISD Skyward Family Access.

Each of our schools conducts a number of drills several times a year, so students and staff have an opportunity to practice what they need to do in different kinds of emergency situations. The exercises range from lockdown drills to fire drills.  Liberty Hill ISD uses the Standard Response Protocol or SRP, which you can view at http://iloveuguys.org

Drills on the campuses are held in cooperation with the Liberty Hill ISD and City of Liberty Hill Police Departments.  They take part in these drills to ensure they are very familiar with our buildings, our staff, and our procedures.

After the drills, district staff and law enforcement officials conduct a debrief to ensure proper procedures and protocols were followed and to identify ways to improve.

Other local partners we work and train with include: Liberty Hill Fire Department, Williamson County Sheriff's Office, Williamson County Emergency Management and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Recently, SRP changed the wording from Lockout to SECURE.  While the elements of these drills are nearly identical, you will notice that signage and wording in our correspondence have been altered to reflect this change.  

The differentiation between Secure (formerly known as Lockout) and Lockdown is a critical element in SRP.

A Secure Response brings all students and staff inside the building, secures the building perimeter and locks all outside doors. We use the physical structure of the building as a layer of safety and protection.  This would be implemented when there is a threat or hazard outside of the building. Examples include: criminal activity, dangerous events in the community, or even a vicious dog on the playground. While the Secure response encourages greater staff situational awareness, it allows for educational practices to continue with little classroom interruption or distraction.

A Lockdown Response requires locking the classroom door, turning off the lights and placing students out of sight of any corridor windows. In classrooms with high volumes of glass, students and staff are taught to evacuate away from the threat. This would be implemented when there is a threat or hazard inside of the building. Examples include: unauthorized visitors or active shooters inside of the building. The campus will remain on lockdown until released by law enforcement.

Avoid | Deny | Defend™ has been developed as an easy to remember method for individuals to follow and works in tandem with our Standard Response Protocol.  Participants should AVOID danger by hiding or running away.  DENY entry by closing and locking a door to create a barricade.  Be prepared to DEFEND yourself if necessary to keep safe.

Since 2002, the  Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT)™ Program at Texas State University has been used to train law enforcement officers across the nation on how to rapidly respond to dangerous active threat situations.  This has resulted in shortened response times. Liberty Hill ISD is incorporating ADD in its training to ensure increased safety measures for all.

• Anyone visiting a school, including parents and volunteers, are required to check in at the office, scan their license and receive a visitor badge.  Asking visitors to wear a badge makes it easy for school staff and students to identify those who are authorized to be inside the school.
• Liberty Hill ISD has hired its own police department to support campuses and reduce response time to emergency situations.
• The district is implementing keyless entry access at all of our schools, which would make it much easier to secure our school buildings.
• All campuses have secured front vestibules that restrict access to the campus without first being approved.
• School counselors across the district have undergone crisis training and are available to provide help and assistance in any number of emergency situations.
• The bond that was recently approved by our community in May 2021 includes a number of projects that will improve the safety and security of our buildings, including secure entrances specifically designed with student safety in mind, additional security camera monitoring and improved communication tools.