The attorney general recently released Opinion No. GA-1051, relating to the carrying of a concealed handgun on school premises.
The Texas Penal Code expressly prohibits anyone (including a concealed handgun license (CHL) holder) from carrying a handgun on the premises of a high school interscholastic or sporting event. (“Premises” are defined as a “building or portion of a building,” but not including “any public or private driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area.”) However, another Penal Code provision allows a school board to adopt written regulations that authorize the carrying of weapons on school premises.
The opinion concludes that the second provision trumps the first, and that a school board can – pursuant to written regulations – authorize a school marshal or even an employee or trustee who possesses a CHL to carry on school premises. The written regulations are often referred to as a “Guardian Plan.”