Addressing the rapidly evolving security and safety challenges facing K-12 schools, Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS K-12) has released the 5th edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools.
It doesn’t matter if you have school-aged kids or grandchildren.
It doesn’t matter if your integration company currently serves K-12 customers.
It doesn’t even matter if you were at NSCA’s Business & Leadership Conference in 2019 when Michele Gay, who lost her youngest daughter, Josephine Grace, during the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, carefully recounted the events of Dec. 14, 2012.
As an integrator capable of providing the security and AV technology integral to school security, you should pay attention to the fifth edition of the PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools and determine whether you can help keep schools safe.
NSCA Members and the Connection to PASS K-12
PASS K-12 is the direct result of NSCA Executive Director Chuck Wilson visiting a vulnerable school district and spending the long drive home thinking about how the integration industry could leverage its skills to make an impact.
In 2014, NSCA and the Security Industry Association (SIA) launched PASS K-12, which provides the most comprehensive information available on nationwide best practices specifically for securing school facilities. Integrators can play a vital role.
The just-released fifth edition of PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools adds critical best practices for architectural elements and use of communications systems that enhance emergency response capabilities, including:
- The importance and proper design of lockdown drills
- Architectural features and communications technologies that reduce the time it takes to get responders to the right location in a building or on a campus:
- Zone emergency response systems
- Emergency responder exterior door numbering
- Enhanced facility mapping
- Distributed antenna systems
- Updated classroom security recommendations with additional information and illustrations
Read the full press release on PASS 5th Edition Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools here.
Related: Federal Government’s SchoolSafety.org Recommends PASS
What is PASS (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools)?
PASS brings together expertise from the education, public safety, and technology industry communities to develop and support an appropriate and coordinated approach to making effective use of proven and vetted security practices specific to K-12 environments, as well as informed decisions on security investments.
PASS Guidelines and Resources are tools for objective analysis by school officials, community stakeholders, and solutions providers for assessing their current state and prioritizing school safety and security needs.
The following PASS resources are provided at no charge as part of the mission to improve school safety and security:
The primary focuses of the PASS Guidelines are physical security and life safety; recommendations are limited to related policies, procedures, equipment, and technology. Modern and effective security infrastructure is an essential element of any comprehensive school safety strategy, but not the only element. When other prevention efforts fail, facility security measures are critical to protection, mitigation, and response.
The Guidelines do not address every risk and every situation and, importantly, do not include product- or manufacturer-specific recommendations.
“This is a great resource that will undoubtedly improve the safety posture in our schools,” says Wilson, a board member and co-founder of PASS. “By using these tools and following the PASS guidelines as a technology roadmap, you can easily envision how each district could develop a plan tailored to their needs.”
Manufacturers interested in becoming PASS members can contact Channel Partner Manager Max Johnson at mjohnson@nsca.org.