TEXAS — The Texas Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Robb Elementary students and teachers on June 26, 2026. The decision upheld a February ruling by the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals that dismissed a lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety and Uvalde County regarding their response to the 2022 shooting.

The appellants, consisting of five teachers and 20 students, sued the entities for negligence. They argued that failures by the Department of Public Safety and Uvalde County contributed to the response to the 2022 shooting, which killed 19 students and two teachers. The Supreme Court's order was issued without comment.

The lawsuit alleged that the Department of Public Safety and Uvalde County failed to protect students and teachers. The appeals court acknowledged this allegation, stating, "we quite frankly cannot disagree with." However, the court ruled that the Texas Tort Claims Act did not apply to the claims.

Under the act, the appellants needed to demonstrate that the actual use of property directly caused a plaintiff's injury. The appeals court ruled that the non-use of property does not waive the county's and the Department of Public Safety's immunity from lawsuits under the Tort Claims Act.

Many claims in the lawsuit centered on law enforcement's alleged failure to use body armor, shields, firearms, and protective gear. Students and teachers claimed that officers failed to use communication equipment and protective gear as they waited over an hour to intervene. They also alleged that responders used defective operational equipment that delayed the rescue.

The lawsuit detailed that radios could only be used within a 10-foot radius of the building. The appeals court determined that the lawsuit did not provide evidence that properly functioning radios would have minimized or eliminated the delay in rescue.

The appeals court noted that most appellants were barricaded in nearby classrooms and could hear the gunfire, with some seeing the shooter as he moved through the campus. The shooter fired into the windows of at least one classroom where appellants were located. The court's opinion stated, "As judges, we are bound by the maxim that 'the waiver of governmental immunity is a matter addressed to the Legislature, not the courts.'"