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:

With Haitian Schools in Ruins, Children in Limbo
New York Times, March 06, 2010

In Ruined Haiti Schools, Educators See Opportunity
Associated Press, March 01, 2010

Earthquake Engineers Release Report on Damage in Haiti
ANI, February 23, 2010

Chaining School Doors 'Fairly Common' in Texas, Says State Fire Marshal's Office
Dallas Morning News, February 23, 2010

Education Was Also Leveled by Quake in Haiti
New York Times, February 14, 2010

Some Public Schools Reopen in Haiti
Education Week/Associated Press, February 10, 2010

Kids at Schools Close to Busy Roads Breathe More Pollution
Salt Lake Tribune, February 10, 2010

Makeshift Schools Popping up in Haiti's Tent Cities
Miami Herald, February 08, 2010

Former Broward County, Florida Inspections Supervisor Warned About Building Safety issues
Sun-Sentinel, February 06, 2010

At a Haiti School's Reopening, a Lesson in Sharing
Los Angeles Times, February 02, 2010

Haiti Moves, Haltingly, to Reopen Schools
Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2010

Big Challenges as Haiti Prepares to Reopen Schools; As Many as 8,000 Reduced to Rubble
New York Times, January 28, 2010

Building Safer Schools in Poor, Shaky Places
New York Times, January 23, 2010

Destruction of Schools in Haiti Quake Crushes Hopes of a Better Future for Many
Washington Post, January 23, 2010

EPA Vows To Do All it Can for School's Air
USA Today, January 21, 2010

Hazardous Code Violations Found in Manhattan School Buildings
New York Times, January 20, 2010

EPA Announces Agreement with the City of New York On PCBs in School Caulk
Media Newswire, January 19, 2010

Flawed Building Likely a Big Element in Haiti
New York Times, January 13, 2010

Officials say St. Helena, Louisiana Schools in Shambles; Don't Meet Safety Codes
WAFB.com, January 12, 2010

Minnesota Seeks Ways to Ease Safety Concerns at New Charter School Facilities
Star Tribune, January 08, 2010

 

Upcoming conferences and workshops on school safety and security:

Using the 2007-08 School Survey on Crime and Safety and 2007 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey Databases for Research and Policy Discussion
March 22, 2010 - March 23, 2010
Washington, D.C.

Campus Safety Conference
March 30, 2010 - March 31, 2010
Long Beach, California

International School Safety Convention
April 22, 2010 - April 23, 2010
Denver, Colorado

CSHEMA’s 57th Annual Conference
July 17, 2010 - July 21, 2010
Baltimore, Maryland

American School Health Association Conference: Healthy Students...Successful Learners
October 13, 2010 - October 16, 2010
Kansas City, Missouri

 

Key publications on safe school facilities:

Preventing Violence and Crime in America's Schools: From Put Downs to Lock Downs.
Greenwood/Praeger Press, Santa Barbara, CA, 2009

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:

Site Surveys: A Closer Look at Security.
Maintenance Solutions, January 2010

The Key to Door Closers.
Construction Specifier, January 2010

Fire Safety: Checklist for Success.
Maintenance Solutions, January 2010

Lessons Learned from the H1N1 Pandemic.
School Planning and Management, January 2010

H1N1 Tests Campuses' Pandemic Plans.
College Planning and Management, January 2010

Despite H1N1 Threat, Survey Shows Many Still Neglect Hand Hygiene.
Facility Management Journal, January 2010

 

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

Healthy School Environments

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