CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — On Wednesday, the Nueces County Commissioners Court unanimously agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). The agreement allows the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office, training division to teach the 16-hour recertification course for the School Marshals program.
Back in 2013, the Texas Legislature created the School Marshal Program following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. This program allows school employees to be trained in protecting students from deadly situations. They need to be an employee of the school district, have a permit to carry a firearm, and go through a training program.
“Nueces County Sheriff’s Office training division is only one of four training divisions in the whole state that has the certification to train those School Marshals,” said J.C. Hooper, Nueces County Sheriff.
In October, the county and TCOLE entered into a MOU, so the sheriff’s office could teach the initial School Marshal 80-hour training course. The agreement on Wednesday now allows them to teach the initial course and the recertification course.
“There are numerous school marshals here in Nueces County and throughout the region that have already attained that basic 80-hour certification elsewhere. And now, they’re coming up on that three-year envelope where they have to get recertified,” Hooper said.
Hooper is anticipating school marshals from around the state will venture to Corpus Christi for that recertification.
He added, this won’t benefit those big school districts that have their own police force, but it will for those smaller school districts.
“Many other school districts, especially in the rural areas of Nueces County, they choose to use the School Marshal Program because they can’t afford or they choose not to have their own police department. So it’s up to the school district,” he said.
Sheriff Hooper said once the memorandum is officially signed, he believes Nueces County will start getting word out about the first recertification course that will take place in about a month.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
