Six N.J. counties set up joint training on school security
Cumberland County is taking a lead role in preparing for a school shooting tragedy, joining five other counties in setting up training programs and protocol. Following a massacre at an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pa., a task force was formed in New Jersey in 2006 to make recommendations for greater coordination and interaction between local law enforcement and the education community. Richard Canas, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, said it is important for educators and law enforcement leaders to communicate with each other and develop specific guidelines for response to major incidents. "In the first critical moments of a shooting incident, before police arrive, students look to teachers for direction," Canas said. "They need to know what to do in different circumstances." Currently, schools are required to conduct two fire drills a month. A task force recommendation would substitute one of those drills with an exercise for scenarios involving bomb threats, emergency evacuations, lockdowns, and active shooter and shelter-in-place situations. Shelly Schneider, superintendent of Millville schools, said teachers and administrators began meeting with police, fire department, rescue squad and other emergency responders two years ago. One of the recommendations from the meetings was for identification signs to be placed on school windows. "Teachers and administrators are familiar with the school buildings," Schneider said. "But police officers outside the building may not know the location of a particular room, and that prompted identification signs that are visible from the exterior for emergency personnel."
Source: Vineland, N.J., Daily Journal, 4/18/08, By James P. Quaranta
[Editor’s Note: The American Bar Association is offering a May 7 webcast on dealing with legal issues relating to school violence, featuring past chair of the NSBA Council of School Attorneys (COSA) James C. Hanks of Ahlers & Cooney and COSA member Carolyn Waller of Tharrington Smith, along with Virginia Tech legal counsel Kay K. Heidbreder and Kenneth L. Davidson of Northern Illinois University. A discounted rate is offered to educators and administrators. See below.]
Information on ABA webcast