To say the United States Congress has been slow to react to the rash of gun-related school shootings over the last decade would be a mild understatement. The languid pace at which the House and Senate have chosen to address the issue of school security at both the K-12 and university level has angered victim’s families, education officials and law enforcement professionals across the spectrum as all parties wondered what the tipping point to action would eventually be.
Unfortunately, it came much too late for 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. On February 14 of this year, a former student pulled off one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history as he used an AR-15 rifle to kill his victims. But apparently, the tipping point had been reached. Almost immediately after the classmates and parents had buried their loved ones and friends, Stoneman Douglas students united in an unprecedented show of solidarity campaigning for immediate gun control legislation and establishing the “Never Again MSD” advocacy group. Articulate and impassioned students from South Florida began to appear on America’s cable news networks, at well-organized rallies and town halls to beat the drum for gun control and enhanced school security.
Incredibly enough, the Florida state legislature moved at the speed of light in response to the tragedy as Governor Rick Scott signed a controversial bill on March 9 that raised the minimum age for purchasing a firearm in Florida to 21, created waiting periods and enhanced background checks for buyers, allowed for qualified teachers to carry firearms on school ground, increased hiring for school police and banned bump stocks.
Now the U.S. Congress and President Donald Trump have also taken a step towards protecting the country’s schools with the signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 which, among other provisions, would reauthorize and restore funding for school safety grants administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The bill includes provisions similar to the Stop School Violence Act, which was passed by the House by a vote of 407-10 on March 14, 2018. The provision reauthorizes and amends the Secure Our Schools program through the DOJ’s Assistance, providing local law enforcement, school personnel and students with the tools they need to proactively prevent a threat. The legislation authorizes $75 million annually for a matching grant program for state and local schools to make evidence-based investments in school safety infrastructure, training, and technology through 2028.
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has been a prime catalyst in moving school security through the Federal government gauntlet since 2008. SIA, along with stakeholders representing the law enforcement and education communities including The School Superintendents Association (AASA), the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and other like-minded organizations, worked to support the reviving of this grant assistance, particularly in the aftermath of the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
“The 2018 omnibus spending bill included legislation known as the STOP School Violence Act, which represents the primary legislative response by Congress so far to the tragic attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School on Valentine’s Day,” says Jake Parker, SIA Director of Government Relations. “For the security industry, the most significant result of the legislation is that it restores federal grant assistance specifically for school security equipment and technology. No federal funding had been provided since fiscal 2011. The omnibus now provides a 10-year reauthorization of what was known as the Secure Our Schools (SOS) Program, but with significantly expanded funding and allowable uses.”
Parker asserts that restoring this assistance has been a top policy priority for SIA, which coordinated support among education, law enforcement and parent groups for addressing the lack, in many cases, of modern, effective security infrastructure in America’s schools – particularly in the aftermath of the attack on Sandy Hook, where the lack of several basic security features played an enabling role.
SIA led allied organizations in supporting the creation of the Congressional School Safety Caucus and efforts by caucus members to restore grant assistance through legislation like H.R. 1636, the School Safety Act and appropriations requests for the program led by Representatives Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and Mike Coffman, R-Colo.
“Through the omnibus, Congress authorized nearly $1 billion for matching grant programs under the STOP School Violence Act through 2028. Unlike many federal programs that are authorized but not funded, full funding is likely at least in the near term because appropriators offset the additional cost mostly by redirecting funds from the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI), a controversial research program that was already built into the budget baseline,” Parker points out. “The STOP School Violence Act is an acknowledgement of the federal role in supporting school security infrastructure, which could also lead to other helpful policy actions at the federal level such as a clarification on using Title IV funds through the U.S. Department of Education for school security and the inclusion of education facility improvements in the infrastructure improvement legislation that is being discussed.”
Parker adds that the ultimate goal SIA and its partners are working towards is ensuring that each of the more than 100,000 K-12 school in America achieves at least a basic level of security, supported by best practices and sensible standards.
While Parker admits that the Parkland shooting was a motivating factor for the bill’s recent enactment, the proponents of the STOP School Violence Act had actually begun work on the legislation well before that tragic event. As originally introduced in January, H.R. 4909 would have reconfigured the grant program to focus solely on violence prevention training and anonymous threat reporting systems, while S. 2495 included a broader array of grant uses that included security technology and equipment. SIA worked with education, law enforcement and parent groups to support the Senate approach, which would provide school districts with maximum flexibility to meet varied needs.
“The omnibus represents a bit of a compromise between the House and Senate approaches, standing up two different programs under a $100 million annual authorization. The first is a new program under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) that will provide grants for training school personnel and students in violence prevention and mental health response, as well as threat assessment programs and anonymous threat reporting systems. This program is provided with a $50 million this year and authorization for $67 million per year through 2028,” explains Parker.
He goes on to say that the second program is what was formerly known as the Secure Our Schools (SOS) program, administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). It is provided with $25 million this year and an authorization for $33 million per year through 2028, which doubles the average annual appropriation for the program provided 2002-2011. These grants are provided for locks and other security measures as well as coordination with local law enforcement. Additionally, it emphasizes use for “acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency,” referencing duress alarm systems.
“Under the COPS program, past projects provide a good indication of what the new funding will support – emergency communications systems, video surveillance, classroom locks and other access control technology, fortified entrances, law enforcement training and other measures. It also prioritizes funding for public schools, although private schools could benefit through subgrants to other types of organizations,” Parker says.
Congress made sure that with the matching grant program for state and local school systems and the introduction of an evidence-based investment program; it was ensuring some measure of accountability in the program as taxpayer dollars are spent to support programs, technology and equipment. The “evidence-based” requirement is defined differently for training programs and other social interventions versus technology and equipment.
“For the latter, grant applicants can rely upon the significant and growing body of work on school security best practices to validate technology and equipment needs. These have been identified in part through public commissions and task forces throughout the country established to provide recommendations, formulate guidelines and set standards for school security. Examples include the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission and the Indiana School Safety Guidelines, but twelve states so far have established guidelines or set standards and many others are working to do the same. Best practices have also been developed through collaboration between public and private sector security experts, such as the PASS guidelines,” Parker says.
He adds that it is important to understand that the definition requires security solutions to be code-compliant, which helps ensure professional installation and use of products that are appropriate for the school setting – addressing, for example, use of improvised barricade devices that violate fire codes, which are completely unnecessary with proper door hardware providing lockdown capability.
SIA has assumed a leadership role in this security sector ever since co-founding the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) to promote the use of best practices in in school security nationwide. PASS created a set of guidelines intended to help school administrators understand some of the basics, prioritize funding, and select skilled integrators with the requisite knowledge and expertise. The guidelines have been updated several times since first published in 2015 to incorporate technology advances and evolving threats. They now also include a cost range of security measures based on implementation date, as well as a checklist to help assess a facilities level of security and identify gaps. This information can be accessed at http://passk12.org/.
About the Author: Steve Lasky is the Editorial Director of SouthComm Security Media, which includes print publications Security Technology Executive, Security Dealer & Integrator, Locksmith Ledger Int’l and the world’s most trafficked security web portal SecurityInfoWatch.com. He is a 30-year veteran of the security industry and a 27-year member of ASIS.
