PASS K-12 School Safety Guidelines Included on SchoolSafety.gov

This month, the U.S. departments of Education, Health & Human Services, Homeland Security and Justice launched the website SchoolSafety.gov, a new one-stop clearinghouse for resources to help K-12 administrators, educators, parents and law enforcement prepare for and address threats related to school safety, security and support. The site features the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) school security guidelines as a recommended resource for developing and implementing plans for physical security in schools.

The PASS guidelines provide school administrators, school boards and public safety professionals with best practices for implementing a layered, tiered approach to school safety and security. Established in 2014 and led by a multidisciplinary team of volunteers, PASS brings together expertise from the education community, law enforcement and the security industry to develop and support a coordinated approach that can assist school administrators in making effective use of proven security practices specific to K-12 environments, including elementary, middle and high schools. 

SchoolSafety.gov’s additional resources include a school safety readiness assessment, a secure information sharing platform for designated school personnel and a wide array of resources and best practices on key school safety topics to build awareness within the school community to promote vigilance and build capacity to respond to incidents.

The PASS guidelines and resources are tools for objective analysis by school officials, community stakeholders and solutions providers for assessing their current state and prioritizing school safety and security needs. The PASS Safety and Security Guidelines and School Security Checklist are provided at no charge as part of the mission to improve school safety and security. For more information, visit passk12.org.