Security upgrades will be visible in Mercedes when the new school year begins.

There will be at least one armed guard at each campus. Parents will also notice new fencing at all the district's schools.

The district also added a new security film on all their windows, meant to make it harder to break them from the outside.

“We are working towards full compliance with our state requirements, and by over the next couple of months, we will be fully compliant,” Mercedes ISD Safe Schools Director Miguel Chacon said. 

This will also be the second year the adults will have a panic button on their employee badges. The district also has new door locks and security cameras paid for with grant money from the state.

The new school year at Mercedes ISD begins Wednesday, Aug. 14.