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How to get started with your comprehensive school safety and security plan in just four steps (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools - PASS)

  • 1.  How to get started with your comprehensive school safety and security plan in just four steps (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools - PASS)

    Posted 02-15-2022 03:34:00 PM

    The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) brings together experts from the education, public safety and industry communities to develop and support a coordinated approach to making effective use of proven security practices specific to K-12 environments, and informed decisions on security investments. This group has a number of valuable resources aligned to establishing in supporting safer schools. One of the areas they have recently put out information on specifically has to do with addressing the the three most common questions that come from schools when it comes to making their campuses safe and secure: "What do we do?" "How do we prioritize?" and "Where do we start?" 


    In their latest blog article, they discuss how to get started with your comprehensive school safety and security plan in just four steps:

    • Step 1: Assemble a Security Planning Team. This should include the safety and security director (where applicable); school administrator; security/systems integrator (or consultant); IT director; local police and fire officials; and school-based health care professional.
       
    • Step 2: Do a Risk Assessment. A risk assessment is considered a prerequisite towards developing a comprehensive safety and security plan because it will inform the decisions you make. There are many free assessments available that can provide a useful starting point for formulating a safety and security plan, especially when resources are limited. The PASS Guidelines provide proven practices for performing an internal risk assessment, or you can find a list of external organizations who perform risk assessments in our full article.
       
    • Step 3: Do a Building Assessment by Layer. Building assessments take an inventory of existing conditions on campus while documenting potential gaps in a school's protection efforts. The assessment should take into account five layers: district, property, parking lot, building, and classroom/interior.
       
    • Step 4: Establish Documents and Budgets. Based on your findings from steps 1–3, the final step to formulating your school safety and security plan is to put it in writing and establish a budget.
    For more information, read the full article.

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    Adam Lustig
    Director, Center for Safe Schools
    National School Boards Association
    Alexandria, VA
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