The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS K-12) just released the sixth edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools. Here’s what you need to know.
If your firm is involved with school security projects, then take note: The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS K-12) just released the sixth edition of its Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools.
Thanks to volunteer contributors and PASS Partners, these guidelines are free to download. They act as a tool to prioritize security needs and a roadmap to help you implement a tiered approach to school security for your clients.
This update improves on the previous versions of the guidelines to make them more streamlined, easier to use, and more reflective of evolving school security challenges. It also includes updates like:
- More focused recommendations on best practices to identify areas that need improvement.
- Changes to security tiers for clarity—it’s recommended that all schools and districts work to meet Tier One measures, regardless of location, budget, or risk profile.
- Enhancements to classroom security guidelines.
- A new section dedicated to enhanced technologies. It details solutions that show potential but haven’t been widely adopted yet, including weapons detection, analytics, emergency communications, and biometrics.
These updates will strengthen your ability to develop a safe school plan, including crime prevention tactics, tips for staff training, and guidance on creating a crisis preparation plan.
They will also advise you on how to increase involvement from key stakeholders, such as community members, local law enforcement, parents, school board members, staff, and students.
The Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools approach school security through five physical layers:
- Districtwide
- Property perimeter
- Parking lot perimeter
- Building perimeter
- Classroom/interior perimeter
Key safety and security components, such as policies and procedures, architectural components, communication, access control, and video surveillance, are outlined for each layer.
“When you pull out a roadmap, you’re looking for where you are, where you’ve been, where you’re going, and how to get there. Through our guidelines and checklist tools, we help stakeholders answer three questions: What should we do? How do we prioritize? Where do we start?” says NSCA CEO and PASS K-12 Chair Chuck Wilson.
NSCA’s Connection to PASS K-12
PASS K-12 is the direct result of NSCA CEO 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) partnered to launch PASS K-12, which provides the most comprehensive information available on nationwide best practices specifically for securing school facilities.
What Is PASS K-12?
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 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 primary focuses of the Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools 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.
Download the newest version of the guidelines now.