Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Will cybersecurity receive E-rate funding?

Key points:

Since 2016, more than 1,300 schools have been victims of cyberattacks, including student data breaches, ransomware attacks, email scams, and other incidents, according to a January 2023 report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

A recent Sophos survey reveals that in 2022, 80 percent of schools were targeted for a cyberattack, up from 56 percent in 2021. Schools are now the leading target for cybergangs, according to The74. The education sector is particularly vulnerable compared to other industries. It reported one of the highest rates of ransom payment, with 47 percent of K-12 educational organizations paying the ransom requested. These organizations, on average, paid $2.18 million in recovery costs (when paying the ransom) vs. $1.37 million if they chose not to pay, Sophos reports.…Read More

How to block school security threats now–and in the future

The typical K-12 school system has the same basic security needs as any modern university campus: centralized management and control of security systems and procedures, and a strategy for staying ahead of threats while protecting earlier investments. In both cases, the latest open-architecture Physical Access Control System (PACS) solutions offer an infrastructure that is flexible, scalable, and can easily be upgraded to strengthen security and add capabilities without changing the hardware.

Building a Future-Safe Foundation

A future-safe PACS infrastructure operates with any access control software and add-on solutions ranging from parking gates to additional IT security. This requires a highly flexible and non-proprietary open-architecture framework with modern security protocols, technology interoperability, and open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that enable hardware to be integrated into any access control system software or security application.…Read More

The biggest changes to school security in 2018

The complexity of ensuring our schools and education facilities are both safe and secure has grown tremendously. Brass key systems are increasingly supplemented with secure credentials as access management has become more critical. The continued development of mass notification systems and video surveillance has made them critical components of a holistic security solution. And now, a major next step is upon us in the evolution of physical security as we look to more effectively manage lock-down procedures.

In the past five years, the biggest change in school security has been to transition from the idea of the big red button–where a single action locks all openings–to a more sectored approach. The new way of thinking is that the big red button locks down perimeter and exterior doors, but interior doors are locked locally based on location, situation, and teacher and faculty decision.

When discussing why this change is appropriate, it is important to look at the specific needs of education campuses today. Physical school security can be broken down to subsections, including perimeter fencing and gates, the building exterior, visitor-access management, and interior spaces. In previous iterations of lockdowns, systems were developed that allowed one system to lock every door: the centrally controlled, universal-lockdown concept.…Read More

A unique approach to school security: Bulletproof whiteboards?

Hardwire’s new bulletproof whiteboard is an instructional tool that doubles as a personal protection device.

What’s lighter than a typical whiteboard, will stop multiple rounds of ammunition, and is 2.5 times stronger than Kevlar? According to Hardwire LLC, a company specializing in ballistic protective solutions, it’s the company’s new education whiteboard.

The whiteboard, which is only a quarter of an inch thick, reportedly can stop multiple rounds from a .44 magnum and above without any ricochet. It also can be used to charge an assailant, or as a floatation device. Could it help boost school security?…Read More

Obama to unveil gun violence, school security measures

The president’s framework is based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden, who led a wide-ranging task force on gun violence.

President Barack Obama’s broad effort to reduce gun violence and boost school security will include proposed bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as more than a dozen executive orders aimed at circumventing congressional opposition to stricter gun control.

The president also is calling for more anti-bullying efforts; more training for teachers, counselors, and principals; and funding for more counselors and school resource officers.…Read More

Texas town allows teachers to carry concealed guns in school

The superintendent won’t disclose how many of the school’s 50 employees carry weapons, saying that might jeopardize school security.

In the tiny Texas town of Harrold, children and their parents don’t give much thought to security at the community’s lone school—in part because some of the teachers are carrying concealed weapons.

In remote Harrold, the nearest sheriff’s office is 30 minutes away, and people tend to know—and trust—one another. So the school board voted to let teachers have guns in school.…Read More

Leaders eye school safety plans after Connecticut attack

“It’s just very difficult to be able to … eliminate all those risks,” said Rick Johnson, superintendent of the Mahomet-Seymour Community Schools in Illinois.

The mass killing inside a Connecticut elementary school has educators across the country reviewing their school security measures, reassuring parents, and asking, “What if?”

“Every principal will be going through their own protocols, the things they do on a daily basis to protect their students and staff,” said Dr. Will Keresztes, associate superintendent for student support in the school system in Buffalo, N.Y.…Read More

LA schools step up security after student shooting

Schools should perform random security screenings, say safety experts.

Security officers wielding metal detecting wands meticulously searched students Wednesday as they waited in a long line outside a Los Angeles high school where two 15-year-olds were shot in a classroom a day earlier.

The stepped-up security measures come after a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun being carried in a backpack by a 10th-grader discharged Tuesday when he put the bag down on a desk at Gardena High School, authorities said.…Read More

Districts install x-ray machines to boost school safety

Smiths Detection says x-ray machines can provide a level of security that metal detectors can't.
Smiths Detection says x-ray machines can provide a level of security that metal detectors can't.

More school districts are turning to x-ray machines like those found in airports to strengthen and improve school security—a move that school safety experts say can improve physical safety as well as students’ and teachers’ emotional well-being while inside school buildings.

Patrick Fiel, public safety advisor for ADT Security Services and former executive director of school security for the Washington, D.C., public school system, said this type of technology can prevent contraband from entering schools.…Read More