With classes set to begin, school districts across the nation are rolling out new security protocols to enhance student and staff safety. They include boosting law enforcement presence and upgrading campus systems. Educators and parents have been pushing for these measures after a string of high-profile security breaches at campuses across the country. Local administrators say they want to ensure learning can take place without safety concerns.
Shelby County School System in Alabama has teamed up with local police agencies and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on expanded campus protections, ABC3340 reports. At a recent safety summit, district leaders and law enforcement coordinated strategies to ramp up security. Calera Police Chief David Hyche stressed keeping officer numbers unpredictable to discourage attackers. "I want people to know that if they intend harm in any of our schools, they do not know if they will be facing 2 SROs or 12 police officers, because, at any day multiple officers can visit any of our four campuses," Hyche said.
As part of the new plan, the Shelby County district is rolling out:
- eight full-time School Resource Officers, compared with two part-time positions five years ago,
- required campus visits by day-shift officers, administrators and investigators,
- active shooter drills for all SROs before classes start August 7.
Plans further include upgrades to entry vestibules, visitor check-in technology and more secure door locking systems, aimed at reducing unauthorized campus access. Scheduled sessions will cover hallways, cafeterias and athletic facilities, with officers rotating through mock drills guided by ALEA instructors.
In Arizona, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne pledged to bear the cost of armed officers on campuses after the U.S. Department of Education froze $124 million in federal grants, which included $25 million from the Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment program. That hold affected eight SRO positions that had been funded by Title IV, now requiring around $70,000 per post from the state safety budget.
The statewide School Safety Grant Program, valued at $80 million, serves 818 schools across 14 counties and focuses on officer hires before counselors or social workers. House Bill 2074 now allows grantees to use funding for off-duty and retired officers, security kits, and facility improvements. Counselor and social worker head counts rose from 565 in 2023 to 630 by 2025. State lawmakers and the Department of Public Instruction will review the program’s outlook during the upcoming session.
In New Jersey, the Springfield Board of Education approved a $124,845 contract with Oak Security Group LLC for lock rekeying at James Caldwell, Edward V. Walton, Thelma Sandmeier and Florence M. Gaudineer schools. Voters approved the funding through a bond referendum. The work joins recent upgrades to cameras and intercom systems across the district’s campuses, part of a broader push to bring older facilities up to modern security standards, reports Tap Into Springfield.
Budget shortfalls have forced cutbacks in other areas. Chicago Public Schools plans to eliminate 33 crossing guard posts amid a $734 million operating gap. Fox32Chicago reports that 11 guards in Alderman Matt O’Shea’s ward are on that list. O’Shea warned, "The safety of our children should never be compromised for the sake of budget savings," and urged City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson to act. Local advocates fear fewer guards will put students at greater risk on their routes to and from school this fall.
