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Texas 9-1-1 Agency Graduates 20 Telecommunicators Following Reclassification Bill

NCT 9-1-1 hosts the only telecommunicator academy in the state. RTA Class #008 represents 12 different law-enforcement agencies and fire marshal offices in North Texas and Texarkana.
Texas is the first state to reclassify its telecommunicators and include them as first responders alongside officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Before HB1090, they were classified as secretaries.
“From citizens requesting emergency services to field units needing manpower or equipment or deployment resources during disasters, 9-1-1 telecommunicators are true first responders,” said NCT 9-1-1 Operations Manager Sherry Decker. “HB1090 will finally give them that recognition.”
The graduating recruits will have completed a rigorous four-week program that teaches equipment use, state mandates and regulations, how to handle emergency communications situations and more.
“I’ve been in this industry for 22 years,” said NCT 9-1-1 Training Coordinator Lysa Baker. “And these recruits have blown me away. It’s my job to not only teach them legal standards and best practices but to give them the resilience they’ll need to thrive. The recruits entering this industry make me excited about the future of 9-1-1.”
Texas is also the only state that requires telecommunicators to be licensed, which holds them to the same standards as peace officers and jailers. The 20 graduating recruits represent 12 different law enforcement agencies and fire marshal offices in North Texas and Texarkana.
NCT 9-1-1 is responsible for more than 40 public-safety answering points (PSAPs) in the 13 counties surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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