This information on protecting school occupants, buildings, and grounds is coordinated with the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools of the U.S. Department of Education.



NCEF provides a free checklist that combines the nation's best school facility assessment measures into one online source for assessing the safety and security of school buildings and grounds. It includes over 400 measures covering school surroundings, school grounds, buildings and facilities, communications systems, building access control and surveillance, utility systems, mechanical systems, and emergency power. The checklist is updated frequently and may be used for planning and designing new facilities or assessing existing ones.




Door Locking Options in Schools.. School door locking options and the limitations imposed on them by building and fire codes.

Earthquakes and Schools. Earthquake basics, preparing for an earthquake, reducing nonstructural hazards, seismic upgrading, and appendices on nonstructural hazards, past earthquake damage to U.S. schools, and schools as post-earthquake shelters.

Emergency Management Standards for Schools. Discusses emergency management standards for school use and lists standards recommended by FEMA's National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Emergency Response Information for School Facilities. Information needed for managing school buildings, grounds, occupants, and rescue and recovery personnel during and after a crisis.

Flooding and Schools. What flooding can do, preventing or mitigating flood damage, preparing for and responding to flood emergencies, recovering from a flood, and schools as post-flood shelters.

Improving School Access Control. A wide range of access control measures for thinking about and devising better ways of controlling access to school buildings and grounds.

An Investigation of Best Practices for Evacuating and Sheltering Individuals with Special Needs and Disabilities. Response to the June 2007 General Accountability Office report GAO-07-609 concerning evacuating and sheltering students with special needs and disabilities.

Low-Cost Security Measures for School Facilities. Fifty school safety and security measures that may be implemented at little or no cost and without the use of complex technology.

Mass Notification for Higher Education. Things to consider when designing a mass notification system, and the pros and cons of current notification devices.

Mitigating Hazards in School Facilities. Guidance for making school safety and security assessments and for planning, funding, and implementing safety and security improvements. Includes 25 downloadable, subject-specific NCEF Assessment Guides.

School Security Technologies. Current information on access control, surveillance, weapons detection, communications, alarm, and emergency notification system technologies.

Selecting Security Technology Providers. Describes a process for selecting security technology consultants and systems integrators. Includes two appendices, "Identifying Desired System Attributes" and "Identifying Desired System Components."

Severe Weather Planning for Schools. Understanding, preparing for, and coping with weather emergencies, including severe thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes and storm surge, flooding, and extreme heat and cold. Six appendices contain detailed weather information.

Wildfires and Schools. How a building catches fire, determining your school's risk, creating a survivable space, importance of maintenance, the fire resistant school, meeting code requirements, related flood and mudslide risks, and an appendix on wildfire response.



Recent articles about safe and healthy school facilities from newspapers across the country:

Artificial Turf Gets a Foothold At High Schools; Health Officials Advise Caution
Washington Post, June 23, 2009

Pushing to Be Free in Schools From PCBs
City Limits, June 22, 2009

Pennsylvania Auditor Sees Improvement in Philadelphia School-Safety Effort
Philadelphia Enquirer, June 19, 2009

Recent School Roof Collapses Concern Parents, Schools
Arizona Republic, May 28, 2009

Toxic 'Carbon Tet' Lingers in Air Near Schools
USA Today, May 20, 2009

Report: School Security Efforts Still Missing the Mark
SecurityInfoWatch.com, May 19, 2009

 

Upcoming conferences and workshops on school safety and security:

International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Officers Annual Conference
June 20, 2009 - June 23, 2009
Quebec City, Quebec Canada

Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association Annual Meeting
July 12, 2009 - July 15, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana

NASSLEO 40th Annual School Safety Conference
July 20, 2009 - July 22, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana

The Power of Change: Healthy Students, Safe Schools, and Engaged Communities.
August 03, 2009 - August 05, 2009
National Harbor, Maryland

Safer Schools, Safer Communities: Ensuring Safe and Secure Learning Environments for Children and Young People
January 18, 2010 - January 19, 2010
London,

 

Key publications on safe school facilities:

Ensuring Quality School Facilities and Security Technologies: Effective Strategies for Creating Safer Schools and Communities.
Hamilton Fish Insitute on School and Community Violence, Washington, DC; Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, OR, 2008

Educational Facilities Disaster and Crisis Management Guidebook.
Florida Dept. of Education, Tallahassee, 2007

Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities.
U.S. Department of Education, 2007

Security Design Considerations for Instructional Facilities.
Texas State University, San Marcos, 2006

Safe and Healthy School Environments.
Oxford University Press, New York, 2006

Security Planning and Design: A Guide for Architects and Building Design Professionals.
John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005

Design Guide for Improving School Safety in Earthquakes, Floods, and High Winds.
Federal Emergency Management Administration, 2004

Jane's Safe Schools Planning Guide for All Hazards.
Jane's Information Group, Alexandria, VA., 2004

Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks.
Federal Emergency Management Administration, 2003

 

Recent magazine and journal articles about safe school facilities:

Arena Security Is No Game Taken Lightly.
Doors and Hardware, May 2009

Power When It Matters. [Emergency Power: Protect Equipment and Occupants.]
Maintenance Solutions, April 2009

Columbine's 10th Anniversary Finds Lessons Learned.
District Administration, April 2009

Who Is Your Thin Blue Line?
School Planning and Management, April 2009

Keyless Access.
American School and University, April 2009

Sustainable Security.
College Planning and Management, April 2009

The Main Event.
University Business, April 2009

 

NCEF lists of continuously updated links, books, and journal articles on safe school facilities topics:

Access Control Systems in School Buildings

Assessing Flood- and Wind-Damaged Schools

Campus Safety and Security

CPTED for Schools: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Disaster Preparedness for Schools

Fire Safety in Schools

Safety and Security Assessment of School Facilities

Safety and Security Design for Schools

School Preparedness for Natural Disasters

School Preparedness for Terrorism

State and Local School Emergency Planning Guides