School security: the right locks on the right doors

Education institutions face emerging threats that best-in-class locks and door hardware can help to mitigate and increase school security, says Chris Gisslen, Director of Business Development – K12 at ASSA ABLOY.

The school security setting

Selecting the right door hardware solutions streamlines mobility between spaces, secures restricted areas, provides visibility into who has access to those areas and most importantly, provides robust security and safe egress during emergency situations at K-12 schools and universities.

PASS best practices

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), an organization offering free comprehensive best practices specifically for securing educational facilities, updated its 2023 Safety and Security Guidelines to provide a tiered approach for enhancing school security.

The new guidelines include a reassessment and clarification of the school security and safety tiers and allow lower-tier practices to serve as a foundation for gradually implementing more advanced levels of school security.

This approach allows districts to make informed decisions tailored to their specific situations, risk factors and budgets.

Additionally, the guidelines provide revamped recommendations for solutions to secure exterior openings including use of code-compliant door hardware and access control equipment.

Some of these updates include recommending that exterior doors be secured with working mechanical (or electronic) exit devices that are ADA and building-code compliant and should be electronically monitored to indicate whether the door is open or closed.

The guidelines also suggest that primary exterior entrances should have electronic access control both to streamline key control and to enhance the administration’s access control visibility.

In response to tragic events and the updated PASS guidelines, school systems across the country are taking action to upgrade their physical security and integrate access solution upgrades into their budget in the coming years.

But where’s the best place to start? Here is a good example of an upgrade and maintenance checklist required by the State of Texas:

1. Conduct an audit of all doors. Look for the following:
   1. Perimeter doors: are your perimeter doors locked and secure? Are all components, including the door, frame, lock and door closer/power operator functioning properly?
   1. Classroom doors: do the doors have locks that lock? Can they be locked from the inside? Are all components, including the door, frame, lock and door closer/power operator functioning properly?
2. Conduct weekly sweeps of all doors to ensure proper function. For the new school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps (ensuring doors are closed and locked) at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted
3. Review and, if necessary, update access control policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are a critical component of a school’s safety and security plan. For instance, have staff been trained on the policy that ensures exterior doors are closed and locked, such that visitors can only enter the facility through primary entrances?
4. Implement an intruder detection audit program. School districts can conduct random inspections to identify weak access points, as the State of Texas has implemented. These inspections can be contracted to third-party security professionals that conduct a comprehensive walkthrough and provide a survey of potential points of weakness
5. Make any necessary physical security upgrades to close the gaps

Making the best choices

Making the best selection requires assessment of several key metrics, including foot traffic volume, the location of each access point and the spaces they secure, and the levels of access rights that need to be implemented.

This will help narrow your choices to solutions within the applicable code regulations and the hardware grade.

Still, within those available choices, selecting the most appropriate device may be a challenge.

Although there are many choices of traditional hardware that are known and trusted, today’s electronic options elevate the standard of existing solutions:

Wired access control locks: wired locks offer top-of-the-line connectivity and are compatible with multiple credential types.

These locks are wired through the door and wall of the opening and can require additional infrastructure in facilities and real estate in server rooms.

Wired solutions now include both traditional low voltage hardwired and Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Real-time wireless locks: these solutions operate with a “hub” near the opening, offering real-time visibility into the status of openings.

Real-time wireless locks are compatible with multiple credential types and although the hub is wired into the facility’s access control system, the locks are not wired to the hub.

These locks allow the installer to run wires or use an existing Cat 5 cable in a drop ceiling without needing to open or drill into a wall.

Intelligent Wi-Fi locks: compatible with multiple credential types, intelligent Wi-Fi solutions leverage the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure to program and monitor locks, significantly reducing installation costs and making it easier and more affordable to expand a facility’s access control footprint to include more doors.

Gain greater visibility

Many of these latest, leading technologies leverage databases that store credentials associated with the individuals behind each PIN, card or other account-based access.

They can adjust the access permissions of each “key” holder directly on their management dashboards at any time.

Server-based access databases also go beyond managing access, providing audit trails of granted and denied access attempts, whether for critical investigation or simply for management.

Connectivity is key

The key to school security is in an educational facility’s connectivity.

A continuum of technology to power that connectivity is available to meet the unique budgetary and security needs of virtually any educational facility.

The wireless approach provides control over every access point, having both global and local lockdown capabilities and control over specific areas in the building.

Whether for K-12 or higher education facilities, the time to invest in the future of school security and safety is now.

Installing efficient lock and door hardware solutions not only enhances physical security, but also provides greater visibility and more streamlined key control to better protect students, teachers and school workers.  

This article was originally published in the August edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.