Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
In a constantly changing world, the security and safety challenges schools face—as well as the ways in which schools can address those challenges—are also ever-changing. The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) has released the sixth edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools—a free resource that offers comprehensive information for school administrators, […]
Nearly 4 in 10 educators surveyed in the United States are considering quitting. The reason? Gun violence. They don’t feel safe at work. That’s according to a new report from weapons detection company Evolv Technology and market research firm Equation Research. The inaugural report reveals that gun violence is taking a “significant toll” on educators, with […]
All school employees in Pennsylvania will receive three hours of safety and security training every year, at no charge to their schools, through a new program grant approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). “Every kid deserves to be safe and feel safe, whether they’re in the classroom, on the playing field, waiting […]
One week after the mass shooting at The Covenant School, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and other state leaders announced additional actions to strengthen safety at public and private schools across the state. These measures include enhanced legislation and $205 million in proposed funding to place an armed security guard at every Tennessee public school, boost […]
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is launching a program to fund single-points of entry on school campuses. The agency will direct $21 million through the upcoming Stronger Connections Grant program. “We intend to use one-time funds to harden the perimeters of our schools,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “These funds will […]
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the nation’s fourth-largest school district, has announced plans to spend $76.3 million on security cameras over three years. The initiative calls for adding new cameras and replacing outdated ones in an effort to ensure that all elementary and high schools in the district have state-of-the-art systems. “As a district, we remain […]
I work at a small college as their first-ever Director of Campus Safety and Security. Prior to my arrival, the college employed security for eight hours an evening, and the security supervisor was also the dorm supervisor/men’s soccer coach. When I came on board, I felt our new department should have a mission statement, because […]
In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting tragedy, the Door and Hardware Institute, in conjunction with the Door Security & Safety Foundation (DSSF), released the following joint statement: On July 12, NBC News published an article highlighting a basic security feature that is lacking in more than a quarter of all schools across the country—classroom doors […]
Update: As expected, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and President Joe Biden signed it into law on Saturday, June 25. Congress is poised, as of this writing, to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), the gun and school safety measure carefully negotiated over the last few weeks in response to the mass murders at […]
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council has released a new report detailing how K-12 school districts around the country have continued to manage indoor air quality (IAQ) within their schools during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, which was co-authored with researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and developed […]