Locks on 340,000 exterior school doors across Texas will be checked as part of Uvalde shooting response

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath speaks to the State Board of Education members in 2019. On Tuesday, Morath detailed for lawmakers the state agency’s plans to make schools safer in the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde last month. (Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune)

In the wake of the deadliest school shooting in state history, the Texas Education Agency plans to check whether hundreds of thousands of external school building doors lock properly before the next school year begins.

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told Texas senators Tuesday that the agency will review external entry points of every school in Texas, which is about 340,000 doors. It will evaluate school facilities to determine what repairs may be needed to secure campuses. There will also be a review of each district’s safety protocols and meetings held between state officials and each district’s school safety committee.