Guest article by Chuck Hibbert The American Society for Industrial Security – ASIS International – has developed an in-depth position paper presented as an ASIS School Security Standard for what they describe as K-12 schools. While we can assume most of the ASIS standard contributors have good intentions for school safety, the paper shows a […]
Category Archive: School security vendors
Counter-Argument: Reevaluating the Necessity and Effectiveness of the New ASIS School Security Standard
Guest article by Dr. Stephen Bucheli Bayne While the recent ASIS proposed standards for school security are positioned as a necessary advancement for ensuring safer educational environments, several critical aspects warrant reconsideration: Overemphasis on Physical Security Measures: When implemented properly by local collaboration, physical security measures can enhance the protection of school buildings and their […]
ASIS School Security Standard: The Missing Link with School Safety Standards on Local School Boards
Guest article by Bobby Kipper of The Kipper Group As we continue to witness the growth of proposed national school safety standards for campuses across the United States, we need to examine the cause and impact on local school divisions. While the intentions of all involved are clearly in what is believed to be in […]
Growing legal school safety mandates and proposed consultant/vendor-driven school security “standards” may mean well, but many create unrealistic mandates that are impossible for schools to comply with
Sheriff Grady Judd, a Commissioner on the Florida school safety commission created after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland) school shooting, said last week that a new law requiring classroom doors to be locked when students are present is impossible to comply with without exceptions and the validity of the exceptions can be difficult […]
School security market data versus independent research data: Strategic school safety leaders need to know the difference
School board member: We have limited resources. We need to spend wisely while also letting parents know we are doing something. Superintendent: It’s hard to cut through the noise. Principal: I don’t know who to believe or who to trust – and I don’t need more headaches that make leading our school more difficult. I […]
School security is being sold to the highest bidders. Private equity and venture capital investors are hijacking the school safety field. Will a passion for profits overshadow a passion for school safety?
Follow the money. If you are a superintendent, school board member, or principal you should follow it very closely when it comes to school safety, or you may lose control over decisions about safety in your schools. Private investors are increasingly taking control over the school safety industry Private investors increasingly have their eyes set […]
If the school safety presenter at your conference is paid for by a security vendor, will their message be truly independent? School leaders in the audience need to look behind the curtains to learn about the potential wizards in the wings
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” That famous saying came from Wizard of Oz movie. It refers to the Wizard of Oz being exposed as a “normal” man behind the curtain pulling the strings to create the perception of something much different than what it really was in real life. Today the […]
The politics of school safety: From “tours” of school mass shooting scenes to statehouse lobbying and your local school district, the politicization of school shootings and school safety may be the very reason progress has stalled, not advanced.
Strategic school safety leaders must recognize and understand that school safety is a political issue. From the highest national levels to your local school community, politics has infiltrated school safety narratives, policy and funding. Superintendents, school boards, and principals must be consciously cognizant of the increasingly political context around school shootings and school safety. Yet […]
What’s my “Why?”: A look behind the scenes of my writings on school safety, security and emergency preparedness
A popular question buzzing through the business and education worlds today asks, “What’s your ‘Why’?” Here’s a closer look at some of the “why” behind my articles and posts about school safety issues: “Does this guy ever post positive things?” or “Are we actually learning from failures?” I hear this question from time-to-time: Does this […]
School security vendors are spending millions for lobbyists to pressure state legislators to provide taxpayer dollars for products and tech they sell — whether or not it is what superintendents and school boards really need and can sustain
Dear Superintendents and School Boards: Your state legislators are providing you the “best” school security that money can buy — money lobbied for by school safety vendors’ lobbyists, that is! Plus, it will be up to your school district to find the funds to repair, replace, and/or sustain whatever you get once the vendors make […]