Paul La Vigne | |
For the last decade, a huge part of our work at Total Security Solutions has been making schools safer. According to the latest data from Gallup, 38% of parents say they currently fear for their child’s safety at school. These are near historic highs and, sadly, they’re justified: A recent report from the National Center for Education Statistics found that school staff are now finding two to five times more guns at school than in the 2010s, and school shootings are on the rise.
We continue to see increasing interest in secure classroom doors and entryways in both new construction and renovation projects. But doors are just the most visible elements of school security.
At Total Security Solutions, we embrace a systems approach to security, where interlocking layers of components and procedures—a bullet-resistant entryway vestibule, forced-entry resistant security films on exterior windows, good policies that vet all visitors through that single entryway—create defense at depth.
What Does It Take To Secure a School?
Ideally, an attacker should never get anywhere near a classroom door.
Time and again, classroom doors have been put to the test under the worst possible conditions, often for extended periods. Police response times vary dramatically in the United States. Although the FBI has found that the average police response time to an active shooter event is three minutes, they’ve noted that in many rural and exurban areas, a 20- to 30-minute response time is “an optimistic best-case scenario” and 45 minutes to an hour closer to the norm.
Even when officers are nearby and can respond in minutes, it can take a half hour or more to end a violent incident in a school. In 2022, The New York Times did an extensive analysis of active shooter incidents and found that more than half concluded before law enforcement even arrived.
In an active shooter event, a classroom door might be the only thing standing between safety and tragedy. In order to be secure, classroom doors must delay or prevent unauthorized entry, be safely locked down without exposing anyone to danger, and reliably allow for rapid access by first responders.
Five Elements of School Door Security
Based on our experience at TSS and best practices published by trade organizations like United Educators, a secure classroom door should meet five key criteria:
1. Solid Core, Forced-Entry Resistant Construction
Secure classroom doors should be solid-core doors built to resist attempts at forced entry. Such a door should be reinforced with ballistic fiberglass, ideally integrated into the door itself (rather than added as a backstop layer). Most bullet resistant physical security barriers in schools are tested to UL Levels 1 through 3, which means they are capable of stopping a range of handgun fire.
2. Classroom Door Locks
Choose door hardware that can be locked from inside without opening the door, but is still accessible to first responders. Any room occupant should be able to lock the door, not just a teacher with a key. Ideally, the lockset should feature a clear visual indicator that the door is locked, to prevent any tragic mistake. In most cases, schools will use a simple and intuitive thumb-turn on the inside of the door knob, with an exterior lock that responders can release with a passkey. Some schools have explored building-wide electronic access control systems. This can expedite both locking down during an emergency and later selectively providing responders access to rooms as they clear the building.
Whatever the locking mechanism, it should never prevent or delay people inside the room from getting out.
3. Bullet-resistant glass
Most classroom doors have a large window, a tall side-light, or both. Classroom occupants should have some way to quickly cover the window, denying attackers information about who is in the room or where they are located.
Any glass in and around a classroom door should be tested to ballistic standards, including UL 752, and designed to resist attempts at forced entry. A secure classroom door is ineffective if someone can smash out the glass,reach through and unlock it.
4. Secure Door Frames and Hardware
A secure door mounted in insecure framing can cause more problems than it solves. Make sure that your door supplier and installer have used appropriate heavy-duty hinges, closers, and handles. Bullet-resistant and forced-entry resistant doors are heavier than standard doors, and need more robust hardware to operate properly and last for years to come. Having the correct frames and hinges will also protect against attempts to breach the door by prying it open from either side, or otherwise compromising the frame.
5. Protocol Compatibility
Make sure that the door and hardware you’ve selected fits into your security and lockdown protocols without getting in the way on a daily basis, or creating new hazards. Products not designed for schools may not take into account additional building requirements schools must meet (such as ADA compliance or NFPA life safety guidelines).
Teachers are often encouraged to improvise secondary door locks for their rooms. That may keep out an attacker, but it will also slow responders, and could prove deadly during other emergencies, like fires. Similarly, when you add exterior locks to classroom doors, you need to be sure you’ve designated someone to ensure that first responders have access to master keys.
When Aftermarket Classroom Door Barricades Do More Harm Than Good
Over the last several years, an increasing number of small companies have aggressively marketed cheap-and-easy “school door barricades” that can be added to existing doors. “Door barricades” are a non-standard style of secondary door lock. They usually take the form of a wedge, bracket, or cleat that secures a door to the floor or its frame.
While these are affordable (when compared to replacing a door) and can be extremely effective at delaying entry, classroom door barricades are also dangerously out of line with safety guidelines and building codes. Campus Safety magazine has repeatedly urged against their use, and even gone so far as to stop accepting advertising dollars from companies whose school door barricades fall short of safety and accessibility standards. As the magazine noted at that time, “these devices … could prevent individuals with disabilities and, under some circumstances, even persons who don’t have any disabilities from evacuating a building during an emergency, such as a fire.”
We’ve seen many of these aftermarket barricades, and they all pose the same set of problems: preventing emergency responders from gaining entry to render aid; potentially trapping students and staff if the barricade malfunctions; and almost invariably violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, fire codes, and best practice guidelines for school building safety.
Optimize Classroom Door Security With TSS
TSS creates secure classroom doors that are designed for safety, fast lockdown, and code compliance. These fit into a broader system of physical security improvements that make schools safer without sacrificing functionality or aesthetics.
TSS doors and components have been tested against applicable standards, like the UL 752 bullet-resistance standard, fire-resistance standards, ASTM and State Department standards for forced entry protection, and so on. We specialize in thoughtful logistics and quick installation to minimize disruption to the school day. Every physical security solution we create is custom designed and manufactured by our in-house teams who regularly collaborate with architects, school officials, integrators, and security specialists so that the entire process, from first concept to final installation, goes as smoothly as possible.
Interested in learning more? Our security experts are ready to offer free consultation, on-site assessments, and follow through with custom recommendations and quotes.
Contact us whenever you’re ready.
