The U.S. Surgeon General declared youth e-cigarette use to be a public health epidemic in 2018. As but one of many examples of how pervasive and damaging the youth e-cigarette epidemic has been to our nation’s K12 schools, the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) found that 27.5% of high school students (4.11 million) and 10.5% of middle school students (1.24 million) self-reported being current e-cigarette users.

The Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program’s document, “10 Essential Actions to Improve School Safety,” is available for free download.

Thermal imaging solutions are being considered as a possible means for screening people entering schools for fever, which is a measurable symptom of COVID-19; however, safety practitioners should proceed with caution before deploying these solutions and use this guide to aid their decision process.

Creating a safe environment so children and educators can focus on learning is the goal of school security and safety professionals. Drills and exercises are part of a comprehensive approach to ensuring a safe learning environment, and our best practices should reflect this.

Most K-12 security experts and school safety organizations – including the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) – oppose the use of “barricade devices,” also known as “door blockers” or “secondary locking devices,” for five critical reasons.

Explore observations on what worked well and some of the shortcomings evident during active threat incidents, along with best practice recommendations that align with the PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools.

The PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 Schools have been recognized by policymakers and subject matter experts at the state and federal levels.