Examines the use of technology to bolster the school security system, tips on selecting a security consultant, and several basic strategies to make buildings and grounds safer. Technological ideas discussed include the use of telephones in classrooms to expedite care in emergency situations, surveillance cameras to reduce crime, and metal…

Weapons at school pose a danger to students as well as faculty. Educational administrators have attempted to reduce their prevalence by implementing random weapons searches in schools. This article examines the effectiveness of this approach using data from two geographically adjacent school districts in Florida (Miami-Dade and Broward). In the…

In recent years, public school students have been searched with metal detectors and occasionally sniffed by dogs or strip searched. Their lockers and bookbags have been searched, and their urine has been tested for drugs--all in the name of school safety. This article explores the legal ramifications of such searches and calls for a critical…

Profiles Floyd Wiggins, Jr., veteran school security chief for Richmond (Virginia) Public Schools. Besides a security force, the district uses hand-held metal-detectors and police-dog raids in its secondary schools and is considering use of student identification cards, security video cameras, and a larger parent volunteer force. Wiggins feels…

In the April 1999 issue of this journal, Michael Ferraraccio argues that the justifications advanced for using metal detectors in schools are not sufficiently compelling to outweigh students' Fourth Amendment privacy rights. In the accompanying Counterpoint, Robert Johnson cites lower court cases to support the constitutionality of their used on a…

Survey responses by superintendents in 81 of Georgia's 114 rural school districts covered violence prevention policies; use of searches, videocamera surveillance, metal detectors, security alarm systems, dress codes, and law enforcement officers on campus; incidence of removal of weapons and various forms of violence; student discipline programs;…

Describes technology-driven strategies for reducing school violence: (1) commitment communicated by newsletters and cable television; (2) elimination of weapons using metal detectors, surveillance cameras, breathalyzers, student passes, alarm systems, and school emergency plans; (3) two-way communications and low technology; (4) educational…

The National School Safety Center pegs the number of gun-toting U.S. students at 100,000. Unless metal detectors are employed as part of a carefully thought-out school safety plan, their use is likely to be ineffective, controversial, and a legal minefield. Random student searches are becoming common. A sidebar describes a Washington, D.C., junior…

Unlike most school-security strategies, search and seizure procedures can be largely determined by studying landmark court cases. The U.S. Supreme Court set standards for conducting school searches in "New Jersey v. T.L.O." (1985) and for drug testing student athletes in "Vernonia School District v. Acton" (1995). School…

This paper presents a history of zero tolerance policies, discusses the breadth and scope of zero tolerance policies in U.S. public schools, examines unintended consequences of zero tolerance policies (especially those conflicting with basic philosophical tenets of the public school system), and makes recommendations for creating and implementing…

Common reasons that young people choose to carry firearms outside of school--protection, intimidation of others, or to be like their peers--are the same reasons they carry guns into the school. This fact sheet presents statistics regarding the prevalence of firearms amongst students in American schools, including: shooting fatalities and woundings…

This paper presents court cases for the purpose of updating current knowledge on search and seizure of students in the school setting. These cases focus on the balance and interplay between students' Fourth Amendment rights and school administrators' obligations to maintain order and discipline in the schools. Part of this obligation implies…

This article deals with the impact brought by the school shootings at Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota to the school community. A deeply troubled 16-year-old student shot and killed seven other people and himself at a high school. The nation's deadliest school attack since the 1999 slayings at Colorado's suburban Columbine High School took…

This handbook provides an overview of legal issues pertaining to the safety of public schools. Following the introduction, chapter 2 describes the governance model and philosophy on which American education is based. Court decisions and federal and state legislation that mandate the right to a safe school are discussed in chapter 3. The fourth…

This booklet provides an overview of security technology product areas that might be appropriate and affordable for school applications. Topics cover security concepts and operational issues; security issues when designing for new schools; the role of maintenance; video camera use; walk-through metal detectors; duress alarm devices; and a partial…