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ALERRT Center hosts local school leaders, architects for bullet-resistant glass window demonstration
A Texas-based company called C-Bond Systems uses a solution to strengthen a glass window before a film is applied on top, forming a protective barrier.
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A Texas-based company is installing bullet-resistant or protective glass windows at campuses around the state, as school security is top of mind for parents, teachers and lawmakers.
"I have a daughter that’s a third grade teacher in Houston, and luckily, we do have our system in their school district…so that does make me feel better," said Michael Wanke, president of Patriot Glass Solutions. "But a lot of us have friends that are teachers or if they have kids, the kids are in school, and you want to make sure they're safe."
C-Bond Systems, through its "Patriot Glass Solutions" division, is manufacturing protective windows using nanotechnology engineering.
"[Glass is] porous at a microscopic level, and that's where it breaks," said Wanke. "We apply a solution, a nanotechnology solution called C-bond, that actually strengthens the glass as it goes in - it makes it stronger and less likely to break. Then, we apply a film on top of that, and then we use a structural silicone attachment system around the perimeter that holds the glass in the frame."
Wanke told FOX 7 they have installed their product at some AISD campuses as well as schools in Uvalde.
Friday’s demonstration at the Texas State University’s ALERRT Center in San Marcos featured two window versions. One was completely bullet-resistant, even when tested by an AK-47.
"The unique thing about our system here is that it is a one-way system," said Wanke. "So it'll stop bullets from the threat side, but on the other side, you can shoot back through it."
The other demonstration tested a window that was not bullet-resistant but provided forced entry protection.
"You would get through it, but it's still going to take you time to do that," said Wanke. "And then you have to crawl through broken glass once you have a hole big enough to get in."
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Doug Wozniak, San Marcos CISD’s director of school safety was in the audience on Friday.
Wozniak said the district has received grant money and has made preparations to install protective glass at SMCISD campuses. They are currently waiting on legislation to pass that will provide more clarity on the specific standards mandated.
"After Uvalde, it was all about doors, and then after Nashville, now the conversation’s kind of turned a little bit more towards glass," said Wozniak. "It was reassuring to see that what we're about to do will actually work."
This week the State Senate passed a school safety bill, and next week the Texas House will discuss two school safety-related pieces of legislation: HB 13 and HB 3.