Historically, many independent schools have not prioritized school security. The reasons vary, but a common theme is the belief that a smaller, well-connected community affords the ability to recognize and mitigate threats long before they become serious issues. School culture is important, but it is not enough to protect the students who are entrusted to our care. And it is no longer a simple evaluation of gates and guards. Both the ever-evolving threat landscape associated with soft targets like schools, and the sharp increase in mental health concerns demonstrate the complex nature of school security.
The first hurdles schools face are the recognition of these newer threats and the corresponding legal and ethical duties they bring to bear. The second obstacle is usually financial, either lack of resources or competing financial priorities superseding school security. The good news is that the assets needed often already exist, but may be unrecognized or underutilized. There are also free resources to undergird your school’s security at little to no cost while continuing to protect each school’s unique culture and identity.
It is possible to create a safe and secure teaching and learning environment while maintaining a warm and welcoming campus. Consider approaching your school’s buildout in terms of layers of security. Work from your outermost perimeter, layer upon layer, until you reach the core of your campus, where you find students. For example, fences and restricted road access might be the first layer, security cameras may be the next, and a single building access requiring sign-in and visitor ID may be the third. This only begins to protect the core. Your critical internal layer of security is the last line of defense where the more important work takes place. It is however, the first line of defense in mitigating internal risk through behavioral threat assessment and management. This should be led by your in-house experts – school counselors and school psychologists using a multidisciplinary team approach. It’s a good place to start or to continue to build upon your good work.
U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center
We are all familiar with the need for physical security and emergency management plans but these alone are not enough. According to the United States Secret Service, a threat assessment process is an effective component in ensuring the safety and security of our schools when coupled with physical security and emergency management efforts. Other key considerations laid out by the US Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center include:
- Threat assessment procedures recognize that students engage in a continuum of concerning behaviors, the vast majority of which will be non-threatening and non-violent, but may still require intervention.
- The threshold for intervention should be relatively low so that schools can identify students in distress before their behavior escalates to the level of eliciting concerns about safety.
- Everyone has a role to play in preventing school violence and creating safe school climates. Students should feel empowered to come forward without fear of reprisal. Faculty and staff should take all incoming reports seriously, and assess any information regarding concerning behavior or statements.
Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence provides a step-by-step path to guide you through this 8-step process:
- Establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team.
- Define prohibited and concerning behaviors
- Create a central reporting mechanism
- Determine the threshold for law enforcement intervention
- Establish assessment procedures
- Develop risk management options
- Create and promote safe school climates
- Conduct training for all stakeholders
The National Association of School Psychologists
To bring clarity to the picture, let’s discuss what Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management is not. According to NASP, “BTAM is not a substitute for school teams and processes that address nonviolent behaviors of concern, nor is it a disciplinary process or a mechanism to allow schools to remove children from school because they have behaviors that are difficult to manage. In fact, BTAM is most effective when it is embedded within a comprehensive multitiered system of support (MTSS) and other efforts to promote a positive school climate and effective and positive discipline practices. When not done properly, or when the process is not used in the context of threatening behavior, students may be misidentified or labeled, not provided with necessary interventions and supports, unnecessarily suspended or expelled, or unnecessarily referred to the juvenile justice system. As such, it is imperative that BTAM processes are followed with fidelity and in accordance with IDEA, Section 504, FERPA, and other civil rights and privacy laws.” (NASP School Safety and Crisis Response Committee. (2020). Behavior threat assessment and management: Best practice considerations for K-12 schools, Brief Overview. National Association of School Psychologists.)
See below for other information from NASP specific to threat assessment:
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Best Practice Considerations for K-12 Schools.
While there are multiple organizations who speak to behavioral threat assessment, let me save you some time. Most, including NASP, point back to the United States Secret Service model as described above. A wealth of information about this is provided in the active links throughout this article and in the resource list found below. The U.S. Secret Service Center maintains a website (https://www.secretservice.gov/SCHOOL2023) for even more in-depth information and free seminars specific to school security. This important security system tool does not have to be expensive to implement; it is a matter of allocating time for assessment and implementation. The value, however, could be immeasurable.
Kenna Powell previously served as the Director of Safety, Security and Emergency Management at Providence Day School where she worked for 29 years. She is currently a Senior Consultant with Group Nine Risk Consulting.
To round out the top five recommended resources, see below for three more robust and budget-friendly sites to support general school safety and security:
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center
Planning Basics and Principles
- Access/Functional Needs
- All Settings, All Times
- All-Hazards Approach
- Assessments
- Collaboration
- Emergency Operations Plan Development and Planning Process
- School and Higher Ed Safety Leadership
- Whole Community Planning
Hazards and Threats
- Adversarial and Human-Caused Threats
- Biological Hazards
- Natural Hazards
- Technological Hazards
Emergency Management Functions
- Accounting For All Persons
- Alerts, Communications and Warnings
- Continuity of Operations
- Evacuation
- Family Reunification
- Lockdown
- Public Health, Medical and Mental Health
- Rapid Assessment
- Recovery
- Security
- Shelter-in-Place
Safe and Sound Schools – Helping to Protect Schools and Students
- Abuse and Neglect
- Active Assailant
- Bullying
- Children and Teens
- Climate, Culture & SEL
- Crisis Prevention
- Cyber Safety
- Emergency Response
- Fire Safety
- First Aid & Trauma Care
- Gender & Sexuality
- Health & Wellness
- Parents & Families
- Physical Safety & Security
- Recovery
- Reporting & Threat Assessment
- Reunification
- Safe School Design
- School Leadership, Law & Policy
- Self-Harm & Suicide Prevention
- Special Needs
- Substance Abuse
- Trauma-Informed Schools
- Violence Prevention
- Weather & Natural Disasters
- Reunification Exercise
- Standard Response Protocol
- Standard Reunification Method
National Association of School Psychologists
- Direct Crisis Support
- Guidance at a Glance
- Health Crisis Resources
- Media and Social Medial Resources
- Mental Health Resources
- Natural Disaster Resources
- School Violence Resources
- Systems-Level Prevention
- Translated Safety And Crisis Resources
- Ukraine
- Supporting Youth Affected by the War in Ukraine: Tips for Caregivers and Educators
- Supporting Youth Affected by the War in Ukraine: Tips for Parents
- Helpful Tips for Teens Affected by the War in Ukraine
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