The Death of National School Safety Conferences: Shift to Local Training = Better ROI
Are School Safety Conferences Serving Schools or Selling to Them? For decades, national school safety conferences have been a staple of professional development, drawing educators, administrators, and safety professionals from across the country to high-profile venues promising cutting-edge insights. But the model is showing strain. What was once a content-driven, practitioner-focused experience is increasingly evolving […]
54,000 Alerts, Only 1% for Threats: Reality Check on School Panic Button Mandates
Mandating Panic Buttons: “Feeling Safer” or Being Safer? In the aftermath of school shootings, emotion understandably drives urgency. Legislators want to act. The public wants reassurance. Vendors offer so-called “solutions.” And increasingly, that “solution” has taken the form of state-mandated wearable panic buttons under laws such as Alyssa’s Law — now enacted in more than […]
School Safety in the Crosshairs: When Security Vendor Influence Leads to Criminal Charges
How private-equity money, aggressive marketing, and vendor courting of education and school safety leaders are creating ethical and legal minefields Marketing on Steroids in the School Security Industry The school security product and technology industry is operating in hyper-drive, fueled by private-equity money, aggressive marketing, and increasingly sophisticated lobbying efforts aimed at legislators and funding […]
Respect the Tactical Service. Evaluate the School Safety Advice and Tech Applicability.
Why School Safety Decisions Must Be Based on Evidence, Not Tactical Résumés In today’s school safety marketplace, it’s increasingly common for vendors to highlight founders’ or executives’ backgrounds in the military or tactical law enforcement. Military service and law enforcement service are honorable professions, and those experiences deserve respect. But when school districts are making […]
A School Safety Vacuum Is Forming—and Vendors Are Rushing to Fill It: The coming food fight over “credible” school safety guidance as existing school safety organizations quickly crumble
The school security field is in the middle of one of the most turbulent shake-ups in its history. Longstanding organizations are disappearing. Experienced professionals are losing jobs, crossing over to be the face for security vendors, or exiting the field. Private-equity and venture-capital money are reshaping organizations. Vendor lobbying influence is intensifying. And public-sector capacity […]
Buyer Beware: As private equity creeps into the school security industry, school leaders face increased risks
Buyer Beware: As private equity creeps deeper into the hashtagschool security product and technology market, smaller companies get gobbled up into bigger entities.Bundled services. Louder marketing. Lobbyists hired. But quality risks going downhill.Our team worked with one district where a once-reputable visitor management system failed miserably across dozens of schools — challenges with service, unresolved […]
Missing the mark: ASIS School Security Standard emphasizes physical security products and tech in schools over student mental health, while posing undue liability and financial burdens
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 […]
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 […]