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.
The kits, which retail for about $10, are being provided to Texas families for free. It was created in partnership with the FBI and the information collected is identified to be kept at home by the parent or guardian in case it is ever needed, according to the National Child ID Program website.
The state Legislature passed a law in the spring of 2021 requiring the Texas Education Agency to give inkless in-home fingerprint and DNA identification cards to each public school system in Texas.
Though the legislation didn’t specifically cite school shootings when establishing the free “child identification program,” some lawmakers said the move came in response to the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead.
The move has sparked backlash from some parents, teachers and advocates of gun control and with critics immediately criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders after The Houston Chronicle first reported the kits had begun being distributed this week.
Many would prefer officials focus on tighter gun safety laws, background checks and better security at schools.
“Texas Gov Greg Abbott is choosing to send DNA kits to schools that parents can use to identify their children’s bodies AFTER they’ve been murdered rather than pass gun safety laws to proactively protect their lives,” Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, tweeted.
In the aftermath of the Uvalde massacre, Republican state leaders — who have steadily chipped away at gun restrictions in recent years — didn’t immediately indicate a willingness to institute new gun control measures.
Instead, Abbott and other lawmakers have focused on “hardening” campuses with a $94 million allocation in federal school safety grants and tapping actor Chuck Norris to promote the state’s suspicious activity reporting system, iWatch Texas.
Abbott also directed the TEA to issue new school safety guidance that requires school districts to undergo intruder detection and safety audits and create the position of chief of school safety and security.
In a debate against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, Abbott defended his administration’s response to Uvalde and addressed the criticism, arguing the state “didn’t need a special session” to address the issue.
O’Rouke joined those criticizing the DNA kits this week and what he characterized as Abbott’s inaction.
“More school shootings in our state than in any other. More police officers gunned down here than in any other state,” he tweeted. “More Texans shot to death each year that Abbott has been governor. Inaction won’t change this. We must win and take commonsense steps to reduce gun violence.”
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