• 40+ Years of Experience: Front-line PreK-12 school safety, security, emergency preparedness, and leadership experience
• 100% Independent and Vendor-Free: No security products sold, no vendor commissions, and no paid product endorsements
• Experience Across All 50 States
• Extensive work with school and public safety officials nationwide and internationally
• Four-Time Congressional Witness: Invited testimony before committees of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate
• 2,500+ Hours of Specialized Training and advanced professional training in school safety, security, emergency preparedness, law enforcement, litigation consulting, and related disciplines
• Johns Hopkins University Ed.D.: Doctoral research focused on strategic crisis leadership and communicating school safety in highly ambiguous and uncertain environments

Dr. Ken’s perspectives on school safety are grounded in direct field experience.

He began his career working in the Cleveland City School District, where he served as a school officer, investigator, and founding supervisor of the district’s nationally recognized Youth Gang Unit. During his leadership, the unit contributed to significant reductions in gang-related crimes and disruptions.

Dr. Ken later served as security director for a suburban Cleveland school system, Ohio’s ninth largest school district, providing districtwide leadership on school security and emergency preparedness.

Dr. Ken’s earlier professional experience also included work involving federal anti-gang initiatives and contracted Control Center operations for the Cleveland office of the Federal Protective Service.

These experiences exposed him to the daily realities of school safety long before school shootings, security technology, and emergency preparedness became national industries.

His career evolved from front-line school officer and investigator to school security administrator, national consultant, trainer, author, strategic advisor, media expert, and expert witness.

That progression continues to shape his approach today: school safety strategies must work in real schools, with real people, under real-world conditions. 

National School Safety Leadership and Public Policy Experience

Dr. Trump has been regularly invited throughout his career to provide school safety expertise to national and state policymakers, commissions, government agencies, and professional organizations.

He is a four-time invited Congressional witness, having testified before committees of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate on school safety, security, emergency preparedness, and related issues. Dr. Ken’s testimony was provided to the House Homeland Security Committee, House Education and Labor Committee, and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Dr. Ken’s government and public policy experience includes presentations to:

• Council of School Attorneys, National School Boards Association (School Law Seminars)
• Education Law Association (national conferences)
• National School Boards Association (annual conferences)
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Study of Implications of Active Shooter Drills)
• Connecticut Governor’s Sandy Hook Advisory Commission
• Oklahoma Commission on School Security
• New Jersey School Security Task Force
• Behavioural Analysis International Conferences (Advisory Group and presenter)
• Education Commission of the States (annual conferences)
• National Association of Attorneys General
• National Lieutenant Governors Association
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Federal role in school bullying)
• U.S. Department of State
• Federal, state, and local education and public safety agencies

Dr. Ken co-created the concept leading to the creation of the Indiana School Safety Specialist in 1999 by then-Governor Frank O’Bannon. He advised Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor on what led to the creation of the Oklahoma Commission on School Security and Maryland’s State Superintendent of Schools on a state school safety strategy. Early in his career, Dr. Ken also served as Chair of the Prevention Committee and Executive Board member for the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative project for the Office of the United States Attorney of the Northern Ohio and was an invited attendee at the White House Conference on School Safety.  

Dr. Ken currently serves as an Advisory Group member for the National Center for the Prevention of Community Violence.  He is also Co-Chair of the Superintendent’s Task Force on School Safety for a suburban Cleveland district following a student  suicide shooting death in one of the district’s high schools. He has also participated in international school safety discussions and briefings, including professional activities involving school and security officials outside the United States.

For more than four decades, Dr. Ken’s most rewarding work involves conducting school security and emergency preparedness assessments, complex school safety consultations, and training for PreK-12 schools nationwide, including work following high-profile incidents of violence and community concern. His experience spans thousands of schools and extends beyond physical security and emergency planning to the complex communications, school-community relations, leadership pressures, and political dynamics that often determine how effectively a district navigates the aftermath of a major school safety incident.

Dr. Ken’s public policy work focuses on bringing practical PreK-12 school safety experience into discussions that can otherwise become dominated by political pressures, crisis-driven reactions, or product-centered solutions.

School Security Expert Witness for State and Federal Court Litigation 

Strong Education and Specialized School Safety Training Credentials  

Dr. Ken is the author of three books, multiple book chapters, professional articles, research-based commentary, and analyses addressing school safety, security, emergency preparedness, and leadership. 

Dr. Ken’s published work includes three books and five book chapters, as well as more than 450 articles and professional publications. His Proactive School Security and Emergency Preparedness Planning book is a Corwin Press “Best Seller” used as reference by education and school safety professionals nationwide. Dr. Ken’s blog articles provide critical analysis of current and emerging issues of the field and are regularly read by school safety decision-makers.

Topics addressed throughout his writing and professional work include:

• School safety and security
• School emergency preparedness
• School shootings and active threats
• School crisis leadership
• School safety communications
• School security assessments
• School policing and school resource officers
• Threat assessment and prevention
• School security technology
• Emergency drills and lockdowns
• Parent-school safety communications
• School safety governance
• Student supervision and human factors
• Security vendor influence and product claims
• Litigation and school safety liability
• Emerging school safety trends

Featured School Safety Articles Co-Authored by Dr. Ken and Dr. Christine Eith of Johns Hopkins University School of Education:

     Strategic School Safety Leaders-ASBJ Dec 2023

     A Holistic Approach to School Safety (AASA, April 2019) 

     Why Social Bonding Is a School-Safety Priority (ASCD, Educational Leadership – October 2019)

Also learn more from Dr. Ken’s writings on hot topics in school safety and security on our School Safety Resources page.

Dr. Trump’s work emphasizes translating complex school safety issues into practical information that superintendents, school boards, principals, educators, attorneys, policymakers, parents, and journalists can understand and use.

National and International Media School Safety Expert Commentator 

Dr. Kenneth S. Trump is a nationally recognized media source on school safety, security, emergency preparedness, school shootings, threats, crisis communications, and emerging school safety issues.

He has been interviewed by national and international television networks, newspapers, magazines, radio programs, digital news organizations, and education publications.

Media organizations that have interviewed or cited Dr. Trump include ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, NPR, BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, Scripps News, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Education Week, and numerous other national, international, and local news outlets.

Journalists frequently turn to Dr. Trump for independent critical analysis and candid perspectives that separate practical school safety considerations from political rhetoric, speculation, and vendor marketing.

Media inquiries: Visit the School Safety Media Expert page for interview information, background, and current commentary

School Safety Speaker and Professional Development Presenter 

Dr. Ken is a seasoned presenter, trainer, and educator capable of effectively communicating online and in-person to diverse, multidisciplinary audiences.  He has decades of experience speaking before audiences in public school districts, parochial schools, independent schools, regional education offices, and other schools nationwide.

Dr. Ken’s audiences have included:

• School superintendents and central-office administrators
• School board members
• Principals and building administrators
• Teachers and support staff
• School security and school police personnel
• School resource officers and law enforcement
• Emergency management professionals
• Attorneys and legal organizations
• Government officials and policymakers
• Professional education associations
• Parent and community organizations
• Journalists and media organizations

Over more than four decades, Dr. Ken has presented, consulted, provided expert perspectives, or participated in professional programs with leading education, public safety, government, policy, and academic organizations across the United States and internationally. Selected examples include:

Education, School Leadership, and Professional Associations

• National School Boards Association (NSBA)
• AASA, The School Superintendents Association
• National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
• National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA)
• Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO International)
• National PTA
• National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO)
• Education Law Association

Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Public Safety

• FBI National Academy
• California Gang Investigators Association
• Midwest Gang Investigators Association
• New Jersey State Police Street Gang Unit
• Missouri Police Chiefs Association
• Indiana Governor’s Summit on Homeland Security
• Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security
• Wisconsin Department of Justice
• Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency

Federal and State Government Entities

• United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor
• United States House Committee on Homeland Security
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity
• Executive Office for United States Attorneys
• U.S. Attorney’s Offices in multiple states
• Sandy Hook Advisory Commission
• New Jersey School Security Task Force
• Oklahoma Commission on School Security

National Leadership and Public Policy Organizations

• National Governors Association
• National Lieutenant Governors Association
• National Association of Attorneys General
• Council of State Governments
• Education Commission of the States

• Johns Hopkins University School of Education
• The Ohio State University Criminal Justice Research Center
• University of Virginia
• Purdue University
• University of Wisconsin
• Cleveland State University
• Ohio University
• Virginia Commonwealth University

These examples represent only a portion of the national, state, and professional organizations with which Dr. Trump has worked throughout his career. 

Dr. Ken’s presentations emphasize practical leadership, candid conversation, critical thinking, and translating complex school safety issues into actionable strategies.

His work challenges school leaders to move beyond checklists, fear-driven decisions, and security theater toward sustainable strategies centered on people, leadership, preparedness, communication, and informed decision-making.

Professional Memberships and Affiliations

Dr. Trump has participated in professional associations and leadership activities related to school safety, security consulting, education, public administration, and emergency preparedness.

His professional involvement provides opportunities to exchange ideas with other experienced practitioners while maintaining the independence of his consulting work and professional opinions.

Dr. Trump’s current professional affiliations include:

Independence matters in school safety.

School leaders today face an expanding marketplace of security technologies, products, consultants, conferences, nonprofit organizations, and vendors competing for limited school resources and the attention of decision-makers.

Dr. Kenneth S. Trump and National School Safety and Security Services are independent and non-product affiliated.

Dr. Trump does not sell school security hardware or technology. He does not receive commissions for recommending security products. He does not accept compensation to endorse vendors or their products, and his consulting firm is not affiliated with security manufacturers or technology providers.

This independence allows Dr. Trump to evaluate school safety through a broader lens that includes people, policies, procedures, training, supervision, emergency preparedness, communications, leadership, organizational capacity, and appropriate security measures.

Technology may be one component of a comprehensive school safety strategy. It should not drive the strategy.

Schools deserve safety advice from professionals whose financial interests do not depend upon what schools buy.

Why School Leaders, Attorneys, Policymakers, and Media Trust Dr. Ken Trump 

More Than Four Decades Focused on PreK-12 School Safety

Dr. Trump has worked in school safety and security since the 1980s. His experience is rooted specifically in PreK-12 educational environments rather than in corporate or general security practices later adapted to schools.

Front-Line School Security Experience

Before becoming a national consultant, Dr. Trump worked directly in school security, investigations, youth gang prevention, and school security administration. His experience includes serving as a school safety officer and investigator, supervising a school district youth gang unit, and directing security for a suburban school district.

National Perspective with Local Understanding

Dr. Trump has worked with school and public safety officials from all 50 states and internationally. This national perspective allows him to identify emerging trends while recognizing that effective school safety strategies must reflect local school culture, leadership, resources, facilities, community expectations, and operational realities.

Independent Professional Judgment

Dr. Trump has no security products to sell and no vendor commissions influencing his recommendations. His professional opinions are based on experience, evidence, context, and what he believes best serves schools and students.

Government and Public Policy Experience

Dr. Trump is a four-time invited Congressional witness and has provided testimony, briefings, and expert perspectives to federal and state policymakers, commissions, professional associations, and other governmental bodies.

Practitioner and Academic Expertise

Dr. Trump’s professional background combines decades of practical school safety experience with advanced academic study. He earned his Doctor of Education degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, where his doctoral work focused on strategic crisis leadership and school safety communications.

To request additional biographical information and reference letters, feel free to e-mail Dr. Ken directly at ken@schoolsecurity.org

Looking for Independent School Safety Expertise? 

For more than four decades, Dr. Kenneth S. Trump has helped school leaders and communities navigate difficult school safety, security, emergency preparedness, and crisis leadership challenges.

His approach remains grounded in the same principles that have guided his career: experience, independence, professional judgment, candid communication, and a commitment to putting effective school safety practices ahead of products and politics.

School superintendents, school boards, attorneys, policymakers, professional associations, and journalists seeking independent, experienced, and vendor-free school safety expertise are welcome to contact Dr. Trump.

Learn more at:

School Security and Emergency Preparedness Assessments

Strategic School Safety Leadership and Management

Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting

Speaking and Professional Development

Media Interviews

Email Dr. Kenneth S. Trump