Because the school shootings in Wisconsin, Georgia, and elsewhere were committed by students who had access to schools, lockdowns may not be able to prevent all harm. Still, these tragic events are reminders of the importance of having lockdown policies in place to prevent intruders from entering and causing harm and by dealing with students already in schools intent on engaging in violence.
Policy teams should include at least one school board member, the SBO, central office and building-level administrators, teachers from different levels of schools, a staff member, representatives of the police and other local first responders, and the board attorney.
Policies should pay particular attention to meeting the needs of those with disabilities who may have mobility and other concerns.
Lockdown policies should address the following.
Authorization
Policies should identify who has the authority to call for lockdowns and under what circumstances. Typically, principals call for lockdowns in coordination with other building and district leaders. Policies should also identify who can announce lockdowns if principals are unable or unavailable to announce the lockdown.
Policies should identify who can communicate with people outside of school, such as first responders and public officials, parents, and media representatives, whether print, TV, radio, or the internet. Having a single spokesperson can keep all parties informed while eliminating the chances of multiple, possibly inaccurate, stories circulating.
Initial Communication
Policies should specify what information principals need to communicate about lockdowns in straightforward announcements or messages. Alternatively, with technological advances, principals may first make a coded announcement that teachers and staff understand and then send alerts via text messages or other forms of electronic communication to avoid potentially unnecessary concerns or panic that public announcements might create, especially if visitors are present.
Announcements or messages should state, “This is a hard lockdown,” if an intruder is present in a school or a student is engaging in violence. Announcements or messages should declare, “This is a soft lockdown” if an intruder is not yet present in a school but has made a threat, if a student engages in menacing behavior, or if police activities or other external dangers such as natural disasters are nearby.
Lockdown Procedures
Once either kind of lockdown is announced, teachers should not allow students to leave or enter their classrooms or other locations.
If a “hard” lockdown is called while classes such as physical education are outside or in locations other than regular classrooms, including libraries and/or cafeterias, teachers should lead students in an orderly fashion to predetermined safe places as quietly as possible. Individuals in restrooms or locker rooms should proceed to the nearest predetermined designated safe areas.
During “hard” lockdowns, external and classroom doors should be secured, perhaps even barricaded. Teachers should keep students silent during “hard” lockdowns, cover and close windows, stay away from doors and windows, turn out the lights, and turn off phones and other electronic equipment that may make noise, alerting intruders of their locations.
Policies should specify that individual teachers and/or students should not try to intercept intruders. Rather, individuals should go to safe places and notify the principal or designated officials who can pass the information on to first responders and safety personnel.
During “soft” lockdowns, policies should direct teachers to conduct classroom activities as normally as possible.
If announcements or messages call for building evacuations, teachers and their students, along with staff, should be aware of what routes to follow to safety, doing so quickly and quietly in an orderly fashion to predetermined safe locations as quietly as possible. During evacuations, once everyone is in place, teachers should take attendance and notify the main office of any absences.
Groups or individuals should not return to their classrooms or regular locations until they receive an “All Clear” signal at which time normal school activities should resume.
Regardless of whether lockdowns are “hard” or “soft,” once they are over and classes have returned to normal, teachers should take attendance to ensure that all students are accounted for, informing the main office about those who are absent.
Training and Preparation
Policies should mandate regular training sessions on lockdown procedures for staff at all schools to ensure processes are implemented quickly and smoothly. Policies should pay particular attention to meeting the needs of those with disabilities who may have mobility and other concerns.
Teams should review their lockdown policies regularly to ensure they align with best practices for school safety. It is best not to review policies immediately after lockdowns occur to allow some time to pass to provide perspective on what was done well and what areas might need improvement.