CT has poured millions into school security since Sandy Hook
Hartford CT December 8, 2022 Since the tragic shooting 10 years ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School, school districts across Connecticut have been busy improving security, installing “buzz-in” entry systems, activating surveillance cameras, and hiring hundreds of armed and unarmed security officers.
The state has poured $66 million worth of security grants into 185 schools to bolster security and keep students safe, and individual school districts have spent millions of additional dollars — no one knows exactly how much — on security upgrades since 20 children and six adults were killed during the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
“I think Connecticut has done exceptionally well and we are seen as a model at the national level and is looked to as an example of how to improve security and meet the needs of students and staff,” said Patrice McCarthy, executive director of Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
Still, not every school system has taken advantage of security grants available since 2013. A total of 16 districts have declined to provide the state with the security plan and lockdown drill log that’s required to receive money distributed by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Eric Scoville, a spokesman for the state education department, said officials continue to encourage all schools to file security plans with the state. State law requires every school in the state to create a security plan and file that plan with the state if they seek security-related funding. State officials have declined to provide the names of those 16 districts that have not complied.
“That’s been a continuous project for us,” Scoville said. “We continue to work with the districts to get 100 percent compliance. Since 2013, the numbers have gotten significantly better; there used to be a higher number not complying with it. A lot of it is education and reminding them why this is important. It’s looking better now.”
The number of school security personnel, whether armed or not, has steadily increased in Connecticut and nationally since Sandy Hook. After the Uvalde, Texas shooting this summer that left 19 students and two adults dead, the number of schools hiring armed officers increased.
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that during the 2009-10 school year that 42.8 percent of schools had one or more security guards. By the 2019-20 school year, that number had grown to 65 percent.
A recent survey by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents found that 66 percent of the 92 districts that responded said they had school security or resource officers. About 11 percent said some officers were armed.
“I would say that of the districts that responded there were no surprises,” said Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the superintendent’s association.
“They have increased security guards and SROs [school resource officers] to the extent their budget will allow,” Rabinowitz said. “I’ve seen some districts hire armed guards.”
Scoville said Connecticut has made steady progress toward improved school security.
“When you look at other incidents in other states, you hear things like there wasn’t a plan in place or police were not talking to dispatch,” Scoville said. “We have broken those silos down in Connecticut and require every district to have a plan. We are doing much more than other states.”
The latest figures from the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection show that of the 221 public schools eligible for security funding during the 2021-22 school year, 203 submitted security plans by the Nov. 1 deadline and 166 submitted lockdown drill logs, meaning they have met the state mandate to receive funding of they apply.
Another 18 school districts had not submitted plans by the Nov. 1 deadline and 55 had not submitted lockdown drills, said Brenda Bergeron, deputy commissioner at the department abbreviated as DESPP. Bergeron said those schools had previously filed security and lockdown plans and were simply late meeting this year’s deadline. She said state officials are working with the districts to meet the requirement.
“This does not mean that they have never filed a plan, just that they hadn’t filed a plan for that time period,” Bergeron stressed.
By contrast, 16 school districts have never filed security plans with the state and 16 have not submitted lockdown drill logs. It is not clear whether those two sets of numbers represent the same schools. Private schools are not required to file plans unless they receive funding for school security upgrades.
Under Connecticut laws passed in the wake of Sandy Hook, local and regional school districts must “annually review and update, if necessary, its School Safety and Security Plans,” and any “school districts without a plan may be denied state funding including School Construction Grant Funding and School Safety and Security Grant Funding.”
Another statute mandated that to receive state security grant funding the school system must “demonstrate that it has developed and periodically practices an emergency plan at the schools under its jurisdiction,” which translates into filing a security plan and lockdown drill logs with the state.
However, despite those two laws, no school district has been denied funding due to noncompliance, Bergeron and other state officials said.
“If a school files for a school security grant, it has to have a plan filed in order to get its final reimbursement,” Bergeron explained.
It’s not clear whether any of the non-compliant schools applied for DESPP money — a move that would force the state to make a denial decision.
William Turner, DESPP emergency management director, said any school can be awarded funds but they can’t collect the money if they are not in compliance with the filing mandate.
“Schools can still apply and be awarded a grant without being in compliance but in order to be reimbursed and receive grant funding they need to have a current plan and drill log on file,” Turner explained.
McCarthy said it’s unclear why some districts have not filed security plans with the state.
“I’ve heard some concern around making public aspects of the security plans,” McCarthy noted. “People get nervous about data leaks. There might be some concern.”
That fear, however, is unfounded. The state does not release individual school security plans or lockdown drill information and declined to identify those who had not filed a security plan.
State officials said they review the security plans and work with districts to improve security plans and lockdown procedures.
“Someone does actually review them, and these things are signed off by multiple people on the local level,” Scoville said.
“Each regional coordinator reviews them to make sure they comply with the standards,” Scoville said, referring to the security plans. “If they don’t, they reach out to make corrections. There are certain things we change in the template every year so the new template should be the template that is used.”
Since 2013, 185 school districts have received school security money from the state, providing a bit of a windfall, especially for cash strapped urban districts.
New Haven has received $5.6 million in DESPP school security money; Waterbury, $4.7 million; Naugatuck: $2.5 million; Bridgeport, 2.4 million; Cheshire: $1.7 million; Middletown: $1.6 million; and Danbury: $1.2 million, state figures show.
McCarthy said improvements to exterior vestibules, windows and entrances are common upgrades undertaken by schools.
“Some have installed doors that lock and bulletproof windows,” McCarthy added. “Many have made renovations to school buildings and looked at security elements that need to be put in. They have looked at drills and making sure there is access to support systems.”
McCarthy said school resource officers do more than just patrol school buildings. She said they also interact with students and said that some have spotted patterns and behaviors that may have averted a tragic event.
“It’s hard to quantify — how do you calculate a tragedy that was avoided because an SRO intervened or a someone intervened and said ‘there is something wrong with Johnny,’” McCarthy said.
“I think the increased recognition of the social and mental wellbeing of students will reduce the number of incidents in the future,” McCarthy added. “Be proactive about providing support.”
There is ample evidence that deployment of armed security officers has steadily increased since Sandy Hook and that Connecticut experienced a small spike after the Uvalde shooting earlier this year.
Armed school security officers, unlike school resource officers, are former law enforcement personnel employed by the school district and not the police department.
Towns that recently added armed officers include East Hampton, Old Lyme, Brookfield, Montville, Stamford, Killingly, New Milford, Regional School District 15 [Middlebury-Southbury], Regional School District 16 [Prospect-Beacon Falls], and Regional School District 18 [Lyme-Old Lyme], Killingly, Madison, Ansonia and Darien.
“It’s increasing and has increased certainly since Sandy Hook,” said Rabinowitz, director of the school superintendent’s association.
Rabinowitz said the Texas shooting did motivate some Connecticut schools to hire more resource officers and armed security guards.
“I think it was time after the Texas incident to take another look at what we were doing in terms of school security and some districts decided to increase the number of security guards and [school resource officers],” Rabinowitz said.
Figures compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics show a steady rise in armed security officers.
During the 2015-2016 school year, the center reports that 42.9 percent of schools nationally employed armed officers. By the 2019-2020 school year, that number had increased to 51.4 percent.
The types of security measures deployed by school systems vary across the country, although certain tactics are nearly universal, numbers compiled by the educational statistics center show.
During the 2019-2020 school year, over 97 percent of schools nationally had some form of controlled access to buildings during school hours; 91 percent used cameras to monitor schools; and 76 percent required staff to wear badges or picture IDs. Most of those percentages represent a significant increase compared to the 2009-2010 school year.
More intrusive security steps are far rarer, the numbers show.
Only 6 percent of school systems deployed random metal detector checks during the 2019-20 school year; 10 percent required students to wear badges or IDs; and 28 percent conducted random sweeps for contraband.
Many Connecticut schools post an overview of their security plan online. The statement omits key details but still provides basic information and the focus of security plans.
The Naugatuck school system, which has received $2.5 million in state security funding since 2013, noted it conducts emergency drills, practices evacuations and how to “protect in place,” the school district’s website explains. Exterior doors are kept locked after students arrive, visitors are required to go through a “buzz-in” process to enter a school and cameras monitor each school in the district.
The Norwalk school system, which has received $447,505 in state security money, bases its safety program is based on five possible actions: hold, secure, lock down, evacuate and shelter.
Newtown, which has received $356,592 in state security funding, said school emergency response drills are conducted on a regular basis.
“During the second week of school each year, all schools will conduct a Fire Drill, Safe School Mode Drill, Shelter-In-Place Drill and a lock down Drill,” the school system explains on its website.
