Security Industry Association Announces Secure Schools Roundtable at GovSummit 2018

Mick Zais

Government, Education Groups and Private-Sector Experts Will Discuss School Safety Best Practices, Funding and Coordination

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Security Industry Association (SIA) has announced that its upcoming GovSummit will feature an expanded, half-day format for the popular Secure Schools Roundtable on Thursday, June 28. This session will be held in cooperation with the Congressional School Safety Caucus and co-hosted with Secure Schools Alliance and the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS).

Offering remarks at noon will be special guest Dr. Mick Zais, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, who serves as director of the Trump administration’s newly established Federal Commission on School Safety. Tim Eckersley, senior vice president and president of the Americas at Allegion, will give opening remarks. Special guests attending the roundtable will also include student Jake Glacer of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a survivor of the Feb. 14 attack on the school in Parkland, Florida, and his father, Noel Glacer.

The roundtable will provide an update of the latest policies, new grant programs and other resources at the federal level to assist schools seeking to bolster the safety and security of their facilities, featuring remarks by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies.  Also included will be a comparative analysis of state assistance programs, guidelines and standards presented by the Police Foundation, an overview of the PASS Safety and Security Guidelines for K-12 schools and information on the new NFPA 3000 standard for active shooter/hostile event response.

The bipartisan Congressional School Safety Caucus was established in 2016 by Reps. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) to support bipartisan solutions to help protect our nation’ s schools and college campuses through education on best practices, efforts to increase awareness of available solutions, strategies to meet funding challenges and legislation that promotes the adoption of effective school safety and security measures.

“Our schools are critical to shaping young minds and building the next generation of leaders, and SIA is dedicated to working to enhance safety and security in these places of learning,” said Don Erickson, SIA’s CEO. “We look forward to this discussion featuring school safety experts on how government, industry and the education community can partner to keep our nation’s students, faculty and school staff safe and secure.”

This year’s SIA GovSummit – the government security conference hosted annually by SIA – will be held in Washington, D.C., on June 27 and 28. The Secure Schools Roundtable will take place on day 2 of the summit in Room HVC 201 at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

SIA GovSummit brings together government security leaders and private industry technologists for top-quality information sharing and education on security topics affecting federal, state and even local agencies. During the homeland and national security-focused sessions on June 27, attendees will hear keynote remarks from Christopher Krebs, the president’s nominee for undersecretary of DHS’ National Protection and Programs Directorate, and Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer at DHS, and find specialized sessions on topics such as leveraging the cloud for video and other security applications, policies governing the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS technologies and real-time situational awareness for border surveillance and other perimeter security applications. To learn more and register, visit govsummit.securityindustry.org.

This event is made possible thanks to the following sponsors and partners: Washington Sponsor United Technologies (Lenel and Interlogix); Lincoln Sponsor HID Global; Jefferson Sponsor Johnson Controls; dinner and reception sponsor Allegion; event sponsors AMAG Technology, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Ameristar Security, ASIS International, Axis Communications, BCDVideo, Calpipe Security Bollards, Chenega Security, Christie Digital Systems, Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency, Gallagher, GSA Schedules Inc., Hanwha Techwin America, DHS Science & Technology, Identiv, Louroe Electronics, Marshalls, Milestone, Nasatka Security, Panasonic, Renova Technology and the Secure Schools Alliance; and industry partner ISC Security Events. Follow SIA GovSummit 2018 on social media using the hashtag #GovSummit18.

About SIA

SIA (securityindustry.org) is the leading trade association for global security solution providers, with more than 800 innovative member companies representing thousands of security leaders and experts who shape the future of the security industry. SIA protects and advances its members’ interests by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels, creating open industry standards that enable integration, advancing industry professionalism through education and training, opening global market opportunities and collaborating with other like-minded organizations. As a proud sponsor of ISC Events expos and conferences, SIA ensures its members have access to top-level buyers and influencers, as well as unparalleled learning and network opportunities. SIA also enhances the position of its members in the security marketplace through SIA Government Summit, which brings together private industry with government decision makers, and Securing New Ground, the security industry’s top executive conference for peer-to-peer networking.