How To Make Our Schools Safe

The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission issued an interim report Monday that outlined several steps it recommends for making schools safe in the wake of the December 2012 school shooting tragedy in Newtown, CT.

Madison has already started the process of improving security in its schools, in conjunction with the police department.  Earlier this month, Madison School Superintendent Thomas Scarice outlined the school district's and police department's overall strategy, which is "slow down the threat, speed up the response." Some measures have been implemented, others are under consideration, Scarice said. 

The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission report recommends minimum classroom security standards including locks on all classroom doors and the ability to implement a full perimeter lockdown at all K-12 schools. The report also recommends some threat and risk assessment measures including "development of a common Threat and Risk Assessment Security Recommendations (TRASR) tool by the State of Connecticut as well as a uniform process to develop an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)." 

Another recommendation is that all schools work with their police departments to make sure the police departments have all the information it needs about each school, including floor plans, blueprints, road maps of the surround areas, alternative evacuation routes and other information. 

There are additonal recommendations as well. An excerpt from the report is below and the full report is posted with this story. 

The advisory commission was created in January 2013 and created this interim report that will be used as the basis for further recommendations "for the state to act." 

As the Commission continues its deliberations, it will seek to involve stakeholders and advocacy groups on all sides of each finding to fully understand the rationale of, the impacts due to, and the purpose of the final recommendations that will be submitted. This commission recognizes that there will be issues upon which there may be great controversy and upon which there are fundamental differences in opinion; yet members believe in light of the charge issued by Governor Malloy it is the responsibility of the Commission to submit findings and recommendations in all areas of its charge. In light of the Governor’s directive from February 21, 2013, the Commission will also be acting to respond to new and more precise questions in the context of gun violence prevention. As the Commission continues to meet, it will look to build upon and fill out these initial recommendations to develop a comprehensive final report within the year.

Here is the excerpt on school safety: 

Safe School Design and Human Resource Emergency Preparedness

Minimum Classroom Security Standards

While design standards exist for a number of school features, ranging from lighting appropriateness to air changes per hour, no standard exists for the baseline of safe school design or a process to determine appropriate safe school design elements. The Commission believes that K-12 schools, licensed day care centers, and institutions of higher learning should undertake a process to determine minimum design standards for safety, although it recognizes that the implementation of a robust security program in a licensed daycare facility is very different from implementation of a robust security program at a college campus.

Each institution, depending on a myriad of physical and community characteristics, can achieve safe school design through widely divergent mechanisms. The Commission recognizes that the expense of safe school design and construction may be significant, and each school district will have different factors in its cost-benefit analysis of various design tools or retrofit opportunities.

The items of considerations set forth in this section address the built environment of facilities and training to maximize the effectiveness physical security programs and policies. Items pertaining to behavioral health and trauma response will be further developed in the Commission's final report.

Notwithstanding the Commission's endorsement of local process over required outcome, the Commission has highlighted a singular element in which it believes the potential benefit outweighs the cost in all K-12 facilities. As precious seconds matter in an episode like the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Commission believes that the State of Connecticut should carefully consider:

16. Requiring that all classrooms in K-12 schools be equipped with locking doors that can be locked from the inside by the classroom teacher or substitute. These doors should also be compliant with building code, fire safety code, and other regulations as required.

17. Requiring that all exterior doors in K-12 schools be equipped with hardware capable of implementing a full perimeter lockdown.

Threat and Risk Assessment/Emergency Planning and Response Standards

The Commission finds that different schools and different school districts have fundamentally different capacities in effectively analyzing their security strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the Commission has endorsed the development of a common Threat and Risk Assessment Security Recommendations (TRASR) tool by the State of Connecticut as well as a uniform process to develop an Emergency Response Plan (ERP). This tool would be applied to all facilities and provide a common planning and assessment baseline for all schools, public and private. In conjunction with a broader Safe Schools Plan (SSP) and with appropriate review and comment by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the Commission believes that school security can be appreciably enhanced. Likewise, the consolidation of information at the State (or DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security region) would assist in effective deployment of State or mutual aid resources in time of emergency.

As such, the Commission believes the State of Connecticut should carefully consider:

18. Developing an All-Hazards Threat and Risk Assessment Security Recommendations (TRASR) tool able to be applied, in a site-specific fashion, to all schools and day care centers statewide. School districts should be required to perform a TRASR within 12 months of its availability and review/update this TRASR every three to five years, unless intelligence or events suggest a more rigorous schedule.

1) The TRASR should provide a common sense approach to the identification and provision of rational and credible protective design building and site components and related security operational policies and procedures which will enhance the safety of students, teachers, staff, and others on school grounds and in school buildings.

2) The TRASR should incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Strategies, technology solutions, building hardening techniques, operational policies and procedures, and the role of school staff, emergency responders, public health officials, and other appropriate resources. The TRASR should be broad enough in scope to include neighborhood conditions to represent the true school environment ecosystem.

3) The TRASR should include a phased over time implementation strategy with achievable milestones representing increasing levels of security enhancement. This should apply to pre-school programs, licensed day cares and, regardless of their size, all other schools.

4) In K-12 schools, the TRASR should include a definitive analysis of whether or not to have a School Resource Officer (SRO) and address after-school access/activities as well.

19. Requiring that schools, utilizing information developed using the TRASR tool as well as through input from relevant stakeholders, develop an Emergency Response Plan (ERP). This ERP should be sure to include information-sharing protocols and off-site reunification plans should the school require evacuation. Like fire drills, the exercise of this ERP (including response by outside public safety agencies) should be mandated and an age- and developmentally-appropriate curriculum around issues of safety/security should be developed by the State of Connecticut to assist in the effective integration of security policies into all classrooms. Evidence (including after-action reports) of drill should be incorporated in the ERP to enhance accountability.

20. Requiring that all schools develop a Safe Schools Plan (SSP) that incorporates the TRASR, ERP, security policies, building design elements, staff responsibilities during emergencies, and other critical pieces of information. The SSP shall be submitted to and reviewed by the DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security; updates to the SSP must respond to DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security comments regarding hazards or oversights.

21. Requiring that every school establish a Safe Schools Planning Committee charged with oversight of safety and security issues as well as ensuring compliance with timelines affiliated with the TRASR, ERP, and SSP. This Safe Schools Planning Committee should be required to meet no less than three times per year and should incorporate not only school personnel, but community members.

22. Requiring that the ERPs submitted to DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security by institutes of higher learning be not only collected by DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, but also reviewed and approved by that agency.

23. Assigning a full-time emergency planner at DESPP Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to review and comment on submissions as well as assist schools and school districts, as necessary, with the preparation of emergency plans.

The Commission finds that, in an emergency, real-time and high-fidelity data is critical to an effective response by first responders. Such data enhances situational awareness and can help establish a common operating picture during a multi-jurisdictional response. The Commission finds that changes to first responder protocols regarding an “active shooter” instituted in the law enforcement community after the tragedy at Columbine High School have saved lives. However, the Commission feels that additional efforts to provide current data to law enforcement can further improve response to such threats. The Commission believes the State of Connecticut should consider:

24. Implementing a program which requires that each school provide local police, fire, and emergency response personnel with up-to-date copies of building floor plans, blueprints, schematics of school interiors, grounds, road maps of the surrounding area, evacuation routes, alternative evacuation routes, shelter site, procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation, and emergency notification to parents. Efforts should be made to digitize plans and schematics to assist in dissemination in case of emergency.

25. Requiring school facilities to evaluate cell phone coverage throughout the facilities and grounds and make reasonable efforts to address deficiencies while, at the same time, reinforcing school policies on cell phone usage during non-emergencies.

26. Encouraging the deployment of enhanced WiFi in schools and the usage of IP enabled cameras (to support response capacity). Special attention should be given to perimeter surveillance and areas of assembly.

Identification and Financing of School Hardening Tactics

The Commission finds that the “hardening” of schools as targets will require additional support of the State of Connecticut, to address both a lack of full access to the array of hardening tools/techniques, as well as the financing of those improvements. The Commission also understands that the incorporation of security elements should be done at the earliest stages of design. The Commission believes the State of Connecticut should carefully consider:

27. Creating a blue-ribbon panel of design and security experts to establish, within 12 months, the toolbox of recommendations for safe design and retrofit of schools to be included in state's educational specifications.

28. Modifying State Construction Grant applications to include a new category of project: SU/Security Upgrades.

29. Requiring that the School Facility Survey (ED050) incorporate security criteria.

30. Requiring School Building Committees engaged in construction or renovation projects to seek input and comment from local first responders.

31. Requiring School Building Committees to reference a specific review of the toolbox created by the blue-ribbon commission when seeking State funding for construction or renovation.

Human Resource Training and Capacity-Building

The Commission finds that effective training of staff resources provides the most critical, timely, and effective mechanism for resisting a threat to schools based upon a human actor. The Commission notes that all adults present in the schools, be they teachers, substitute teachers, custodians, paraprofessionals, administrators, volunteers, or other staff, all play a critical role in time of emergency. The Commission also observes that, in the wake of recent tragedies and attempted efforts to destroy the sanctity of our school spaces, we must redouble our efforts to restrict access to school buildings by those who may, by effort or inadvertently, expose schoolchildren to risk. The Commission believes the State of Connecticut should consider:

32. Requiring the State Department of Education to establish a training course for school staff specifically designed to increase awareness of security policies and programs.

33. Requiring that, upon the implementation of any new security measure or change in the legislative or regulatory environments regarding school security, all relevant staff be trained in management or operation of any new equipment and instructed in their role during an emergency due to any change in policy, practice, or regulation. Such roles and responsibilities may include utility and alarm shutoffs.

34.Requiring the training of appropriate school personnel in the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System, the uniform mechanisms for emergency management response to a crisis situation. Such Unified Command Structure should specifically incorporate municipal/regional officials, school officials, and emergency response personnel.

35. Requiring, for the purposes of supervised access and controlled entry, a Trusted Access Program (TAP) to be enforced at all schools. This TAP will allow, through the visual display of credentials, the identification of staff, contractors, parents, and others authorized to be on school grounds.

36. Requiring background screening for all staff in schools.

37. Establishing a best practices guide for effective bullying and threat identification, prevention, and response to be made available to all schools.

38. Requiring that a quality assurance (QA) program be implemented in all schools to ensure that appropriate matters arising within the school are referred to local law enforcement for review and action.