"School administrators, law enforcement officials and emergency responders are working closely together in most parts of the state on school safety issues but there are always areas where we can improve," said Easley. "This review has given us a clearer picture of what we are doing well and what we need to work on to keep North Carolina's schools safe and secure places for our children to learn. Every parent in North Carolina should know that when they drop their child off in the morning that the state and the schools are doing everything possible to ensure their children's safety."
North Carolina's national leadership in the School Resource Officer Program, according to the report, is one of the key efforts that is working to help keep schools secure. These certified law enforcement officers are permanently assigned to schools providing security, law-related counseling and public-safety related instruction.
The effectiveness of this program was evident in August when a gunman opened fire at Orange High School in Hillsborough. The immediate response of the school resource officer and a former state trooper on campus, who apprehended the gunman, prevented a more serious incident.
The review recommends expanding the program in high schools and middle schools so there is at least one resource officer for every 1,000 students. There are currently 773 resource officers in the state's public schools. The recommendation would add 24 resource officers statewide.
The review found that some schools lack basic two-way communications between classrooms and the main office or do not have ways to immediately communicate crisis information to parents. The review recommends law enforcement, technology and school experts convene to examine the need and effectiveness of current technology and to develop recommendations for school districts to acquire the appropriate technology to ensure two-way communication in their schools.
"We found there are many community agencies concerned with school safety and that is good," said Beatty. "But we need to make sure these agencies are working together and communicating well to coordinate their efforts and planning for all types of emergencies."
According to the review, information sharing is also crucial to preventing school violence. Studies show that in most violent campus incidents suspects tell someone what they are planning. If students, parents and teachers know what to do when they hear of a threat, they are in a better position to help prevent incidents from occurring.
North Carolina has been proactive in this area, setting up a toll-free safe schools tip line so students, parents and others can anonymously report threats or suspicious activity at schools. The report recommends increased public awareness of the tip line. That number is 1-888-960-9600.
A full copy of the report is available here.
