DALLAS — Texas public schools are distributing DNA and fingerprint identification kits to parents in case they need to provide their child’s DNA to law enforcement if they go missing — or in case of other emergencies.
But as school districts begin distributing the kits this fall, for many it’s a stark reminder of the safety concerns facing schools: mass shootings. The distribution comes less than six months after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde — the deadliest school shooting in the state’s history.
As family members waited to find out the fate of their children in the May massacre, some were asked to provide DNA samples to help identify the dead.
