Safety & Security
Safety and security at Lake Travis ISD is our top priority. We believe relationships are critical to successful schools, and ultimately, our families and students are the best partners in keeping our campuses safe. Our principals and school administrators investigate every reported tip or threat. We work with law enforcement and take quick and appropriate action, including notifying families, if there is a valid threat on campus. We ask all of our families and students to please share any information regarding school or student safety by either directly contacting a school staff member or by using the Cavs Who Care Tip Line, our anonymous reporting tool.
Cavs Who Care Tip Line
The Cavs Who Care Tip Line provides an easy and confidential way for students and parents to report bullying, harassment, or other personal crisis. You can leave an anonymous tip on the LTISD or any campus website 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. However, it is preferred that you include your name and contact information so that a campus administrator can investigate your tip more thoroughly as well as provide a response if needed. Please note, that the Cavs Who Care Tip Line is not a 24-hour crisis hotline and will only be monitored during school days and school hours.
Students and parents may submit a tip related to the following topics:
- bullying
- drugs
- fighting
- harassment
- personal crisis
- racism
- safety risk
- threat
- vandalism
- weapons
The Cavs Who Care Tip Line is also available on the LTISD app.
In the event of an emergency or immediate need, please call 911, your campus principal, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Police Officers
LTISD operates its own police department consisting of a Chief of Police and 13 experiened and highly-trained police officers allowing every campus in the district to have a police officer assigned to it.
Secure Campuses / Campus Visitors
Parents, guardians, and others are welcome to visit LTISD schools. All campuses are secured from entry and only allow visitors into a secured reception area. However, access to the inside of the school will be denied until the visitor has signed in, been screened by the campus, demonstrated a legitimate need to be onsite, and issued a visitor’s badge.
Raptor Visitor Management System
For the safety and security of our students, LTISD has implemented the Raptor Visitor Management System at all campuses. Raptor is the nation's leading provider of integrated school safety technologies and is designed to ensure that adult visitors on campus are identified and do not pose a threat to any students or staff.
Upon entering an LTISD campus, visitors will be asked to present one of the following forms of identification:
- Valid Driver’s License (any state)
- Passport State-Issued Identification
- Card Work Visa Green Card
Licenses or identification cards will be scanned and returned. Once cleared, visitors will be issued a visitor's badge, which must be worn at all times while on campus. Upon departure, the visitor's badge must be returned to the receptionist.
Radios
Key campus personnel have been provided radios to support campus communications and emergency response. Police officers have access to these campus radios and also have radios allowing them to communicate instantly with surrounding law enforcement agencies in the event of an emergency for a much faster and more coordinated response time than dialing 911.
Security Cameras
The district has hundreds of security cameras throughout its facilities, and all campuses have staff trained to monitor cameras for their specific sites. Several key personnel have access to view all cameras throughout the district live and in real-time as well as the ability to review the recorded footage.
Partnerships with Local Law Enforcement
Our police officers and district administration work closely with the City of Lakeway and City of Bee Cave police departments and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to coordinate emergency response plans. Additionally, all officers from surrounding agencies have an open invitation to visit and perform campus walkthroughs at any time.
Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams
A “Safe and Supportive School Program Team” is a multidisciplinary team that conducts behavioral threat assessments by assessing and reporting individuals who make threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent behavior and who gathers and analyzes data to determine the level of risk and appropriate intervention. The team serves as a safety net for the community and school by:
- Conducting a fact‐based, systematic, and investigative approach to determining how likely a person is to carry out a threat of violence.
- Identifying, assessing, and managing appropriate interventions for individuals who are at risk for violence against themselves and others.
- Providing guidance to students and school employees on recognizing harmful, threatening, or violent behavior that may pose a threat to the community, school, or individual. When conducting this process with fidelity, it leads to a positive and safe school climate.
This process is not intended to be punitive or adversarial; rather, it is a way to build trust and situational awareness.
Non-Behavioral Threat Assessment
Lake Travis ISD uses the National Threat Assessment Center's screener for all non-behavioral threat assessments. This evidence-based tool helps us evaluate the level of risk and ensure appropriate actions are taken. Additionally:
- Students who have made threats undergo mandatory threat assessments, which guide the next steps based on the risk level identified.
- Campus safety plans are created and implemented to address potential risks and ensure the safety of all students and staff.
- Counseling and mental health support is offered to students involved in serious incidents, with threat assessments informing decisions on necessary interventions.
- We collaborate closely with district police to ensure all safety protocols are followed and law enforcement is involved when needed.
Counselors and Social Workers
LTISD has counselors at all campuses and several social workers available to assist students in need. For additional information, please refer to the Health and Social-Emotional Learning page on the LTISD website.
Staff Training
All district staff, including substitutes, custodial, cafeteria workers, etc. are trained annually on emergency protocols and the Standard Response Protocol (see below), and all are expected to fully participate during site drills.
Standard Response Protocol
A critical ingredient in the safe school recipe is the classroom response to an incident at school. Weather events, fire, accidents, intruders, and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by students, teachers, staff, and administration.
LTISD has expanded its safety program to include the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), a National program. The SRP is based on these five actions: Secure (Lockout), Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter, and Hold. In the event of an emergency, the action and appropriate direction will be announced on the PA system.
- Secure (Lockout) - "Get inside. Lock outside doors"
- Lockdown - "Locks, lights, out of sight"
- Evacuate - "To the announced location"
- Shelter - "For a hazard using a safety strategy"
- Hold - "Hold in your classroom"
All staff and students will be trained and the school will practice these drills over the course of the school year.
Please note: when any of these protocols have been activated and are in progress, parents should not call the campus. Additionally, parents should not come to the school and attempt to pick up their children. All staff are expected to assist students and will be fully engaged in the response. Furthermore, during the emergency response, all official communication and statements will be made and shared by the Office of Communications & Community Relations. Once the response protocol has been lifted and an "ALL CLEAR" has been received, the campus principal will provide a summary of the incident.
At a minimum, LTISD conducts the following drills annually:
- Secure (Lockout) - 2 per year (1 required)
- Lockdown - 2 per year as required
- Evacuate - 1 per year (outside of fire drills)
- Shelter - 2 per year as required
- Fire Drills - 10 per year (4 required)
Review the SRP flyers and video below for more information.
For more information, contact Todd Sumrall, LTISD Interim Chief of Police, at 512-533-5758, or via email at sumrallt@ltisdschools.org.