New school year in Tucson brings enhanced safety measures | Local News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) marked the start of a new school year by reopening 88 schools across the district. Around 40,000 students returned to classrooms greeted by around 7,500 teachers and staff.

New safety measures and technology have been introduced to enhance the security of students. This includes the “Here Comes the Bus” app, which allows parents and faculty to track the location of their child’s bus.

Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, Superintendent of TUSD, highlighted the advantages of the new app.

“When they swipe their IDs, we know in real time through the app that we have, where each individual student is. We know how long they’ve been riding, and we also know when they’ve been dropped off and their parents do too,” said Trujillo.

The district is also implementing a new Centegix emergency notification system that equips staff with badges to communicate with security and first responders.

“If there’s an intruder, rushing into a room or if it’s a student already in the room pulling out a weapon. Now with just a touch of a badge…it’s going send off a wireless signal to our administrator’s security officials,” Trujillo said.

Additionally, TUSD has installed stronger film protection on windows to prevent intruders from breaking in easily.

The district remains focused on keeping students safe throughout the school year.