schools
Baltimore County Ramps Up Security At Elementary Schools
Cameras and ID verification systems were part of the $3.7 million project, Baltimore County reported. In response to violence at schools nationwide—including shootings at Perry Hall High School and in Newtown, CT—officials in Baltimore County rolled out an initiative Tuesday they say will make elementary schools more secure. The $3.7 million project includes cameras, door […]
Seneca Valley PA Schools Could Permit Audio Surveillance On Buses
Seneca Valley School District officials will soon be able to listen to pupils on their buses as well as watch them. School board members passed the first reading tonight of a policy that will permit audio recording on school buses. The district already has video surveillance equipment on all of its buses. District spokeswoman Linda Andreassi said they must vote on the policy three times before it can go into effect. She said they expect to start using the audio equipment on buses next school year. Jim Pearson, district transportation director, said the bus surveillance cameras are audio capable but the audio was shut off because state law did not permit audio recordings. Mr. Pearson said state law changed last month when the governor signed Senate Bill 57 allowing audio recordings on school vehicles for disciplinary or security purposes. The new law requires school districts to adopt a policy authorizing the use of audio equipment, to post warnings on buses that audio is being recorded and send parents written notices each year about the audio taping, Mr. Pearson said. He said there should be no additional costs to the district for the audio on the buses, but the district has two vans without any video or audio monitoring equipment. Adding the equipment to those vehicles would cost about a $1,000 for each vehicle, he said. Laure Cioffi, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com
Source www.post-gazette.com
School Security Cameras: Do Studies And Surveillance Mesh?
The answer to this continues to be the topic of heated debates. Parents and legislators are all for the installation of school security cameras even though students and teachers vehemently oppose it. Learn more on a partner wiki by clicking go here for more info . The issue is one that strikes a really powerful chord in schools everywhere, and echoes the dilemma that confront lawmakers on a national scale. Which is a lot more critical – safety or personal privacy? Why the Require for School Security Cameras?.. Do security cameras belong in schools? The answer to this continues to be the topic of heated debates. For additional information, please consider checking out: advertisers . Parents and legislators are all for the installation of school security cameras while students and teachers vehemently oppose it. The problem is a single that strikes a extremely powerful chord in schools everywhere, and echoes the dilemma that confront lawmakers on a national scale. Which is a lot more critical – safety or private privacy? Why the Require for School Security Cameras? In recent years, the school has been the setting of many tragic and violent incidents. To avoid further bloodshed, educators and legislators have united to make schools safe once much more. Some of the strategies that sprang from the collaboration contain the deployment of a full-time security officer in school buildings. Like Us On Facebook includes further about the inner workings of this hypothesis. Another is coaching students how to handle potentially […]
Source www.online-persberichten.nl
UK Schools Fast To Adopt Biometrics: 1M+ Pupils Registered
New research has been published that shows more than one million children in England have had their fingerprints taken by their school, demonstrating a high demand for the technology despite possible privacy concerns. The figures come from a Big Brother Watch report " Biometrics in Schools " which calculated that over 1.28 million students had been fingerprinted in secondary schools and academies (based on data from the 2012-13 academic year). The research, gathered from Freedom of Information Requests to more than 3,000 schools, shows that at the start of the academic year 2012-13 an estimated 40% of schools in England are using biometric technology. Laws governing the enrolling of biometrics in schools were enshrined in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Before that Act came into force, Big Brother Watch estimates that 31% of schools did not consult parents before enrolling children. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, the rules for schools and colleges that use biometric recognition systems, such as fingerprint identification and facial scanning, now state: For all pupils in schools and colleges under 18, they must obtain the written consent of a parent before they take and process their child’s biometric data. They must treat the data with appropriate care and must comply with data protection principles as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. They must provide alternative means for accessing services where a parent or pupil has refused consent. A spokesman at the Association of School and College Leaders – which represents secondary […]
Source www.planetbiometrics.com
Wisconsin’s Rep Larson Introduces Bill Preventing Schools From Collecting Biometric Data
Rep. Tom Larson (R-Colfax) introduced a bill barring schools from collecting or using students’ biometric data, such as blood pressure, without their parents’ or guardians’ consent. No school district in Wisconsin is known to engage in these practices. In fact, no Wisconsin law exists regarding the collection or usage of biometric data one way or another, but times are changing fast. “As technology and teaching methods evolve, who can say what’s coming ten, twenty or thirty years down the road?” Larson asked. Larson said his bill is about preventing a potential problem. “I believe the legislature owes it to students and their families to be proactive and address the issue of biometric data before it can become a problem.” Larson introduced the bill in response to a recommendation from the Assembly Select Committee on Common Core Standards.
Source chippewa.com
NY School Bond Seeks Security Improvements
LAGRANGEVILLE — Residents in the Arlington Central School District can vote Tuesday on a $10.23 million bond proposal to pay for safety improvements, the district said. The bond would cover expenses for several capital projects to improve security and safety at Arlington schools. Several health-related projects also are included, the district said. For a home valued at $300,000 the cost would be about $22 a year over a 16-year bond cycle. The project would not impact taxpayers until the 2016-17 school year, the district said. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Arlington primary and elementary schools. Residents vote at the schools where they typically vote for school district budgets. The proposal has four main goals, Superintendent Brendan Lyons said. Secure building perimeters; Safeguard students and staff; Enhance communications within and between schools, offices and local police and fire departments; Maintain healthy school environments. Referendum components include securing entrance vestibules and greeter workstations; having panic systems and enhanced interior lockdown capabilities; a phone system upgrade; security cameras and health and safety projects, he said. Union Vale resident Debbie Silbergleit, 41, a mother of two, said she plans to vote in favor of the proposal Tuesday. If you look at the map and realize its going to cost between $1 and $3 a month in the district to have our schools be more secure its a cup of coffee, she said. Silbergleit said she was working as a guidance secretary in Vermont […]
Coachella Valley Unified School District To Install Security Cameras
THERMAL — The Coachella Valley Unified School District will spend as much as $1 million to install security cameras all 21 schools in the east valley district. The school board voted unanimously, 6-0, to solicit bids for the cameras during a meeting on Thursday night. One member, Juanita Duarte, was absent due to illness. Darryl Adams, superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified, said the purchase of cameras was not prompted by any particular crime or incident, but that added security would protect campuses from copper wire thieves, who have struck east valley schools before. Schools in Coachella Valley Unified are currently protected by an alarm system, monitored by Protection 1, a private security company. Campuses are also patrolled by security officers. One school already has security cameras, but the outdated system is ready to be replaced, said Elsa Esqueda, district director of facilities, maintenance and security. The cameras will be funded from the districts Measure D bond, a $250 million borrowing authorization approved by voters in 2005. The district has estimated that the camera system will cost $1 million, the but competitive bidding process could lower that price tag. The district goal is to make campuses safer, especially after the Sandy Hook incident, Adams wrote in an e-mail on Wednesday. Nearly one year ago, a gunman attacked Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 26 people including 20 children before killing himself. Sandy Hook shooting was the deadliest mass killing in the U.S. since 2007, according to USA […]
Source www.mydesert.com
Fortifying Pocono Schools
Top Photo A year ago, teachers at one East Stroudsburg elementary school relied on skeleton keys and had no way to lock rooms from the inside. That’s changed as the school completed a lock upgrade over the summer. It’s one of many security improvements, some that were in the works already, ushered in to make Pocono schools safer since the mass shootings at a Newtown, Conn., school a year ago. On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 26 students and staff inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. In the aftermath, districts in the Poconos answered questions about their own mechanisms to stop a potential threat. While educators said they already had plans in place, the shooting prompted a review of security at many districts. The state Legislature also passed a quadrupled $8.5 million school safety bill in response to the Newtown shooting. Under the bill, school districts can apply for funding for school resource officers and security equipment upgrades. An announcement on award recipients is slated for this month. ‘Seconds count’ At Delaware Valley School District, Superintendent John Bell said officials launched $500,000 in security improvements in response to Newtown. The district added a police officer to the elementary school, he said. Before, schools believed officers should focus on older children and threats within instead of an outside shooter as in Newtown. "It totally changed our whole perspective on school security," he said. Bell said the money has also paid for fencing near elementary […]
Source www.poconorecord.com
Report: School Security Equipment Market To Surpass $720M By 2014
As the nation gets ready to mark the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting this week, IHS announced on Wednesday that it is forecasting strong growth in demand for security equipment in U.S. schools over the next several years. According to the research firm, the market size for security equipment in schools will reach $634 million this year and is expected to surpass $720 million by 2014. IHS said that high-profile shootings like Sandy Hook have a “partial impact” on school security spending as there is typically a spike in spending and budgets following these tragedies. “These events force schools to review their existing policies and create threat assessments as well as new policies and procedures. There is no set standard for what schools need to do to prevent these tragedies,” Blake Kozak, senior analyst for access control, fire and security at IHS said in a statement. “Perhaps the key here is to have ongoing discussions and security reviews long after such events fade from media coverage. For example, continued knowledge sharing between school districts and universities to find best practices.” Funding remains one of the biggest barriers of growth when it comes to expanded use of security equipment in schools. IHS said that the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $45 million in Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants this year to schools that planned security enhancements. Video surveillance is expected to be the focal point of school security spending in the years to come […]
Source www.securityinfowatch.com
42 New Cameras Added At Clawson MI School Facilities
If students at Clawsons schools were unsure if they were being watched as they made their way through the hallways, they can be sure now. A plan to install 42 more security cameras and upgrade the schools monitoring systems that was approved by the Clawson School Board in May was recently completed, and should give school administrators an improved vantage point when it comes to school security, said Ryan Velzy, the technology director of the Oakland Intermediate School District. The new system will allow administrators to monitor what happens inside a building and especially outside of facilities, he said. We conducted audits with the principals of each building do that we could find out what the specific needs were. Monique Beels, superintendent of Clawson Schools, said the former system was outdated and needed to be replaced. Im not sure how old some of the cameras were, but many of them were too old to be (repaired), she said. We needed a system that can provide the security we need at the schools. With this system, administrators can monitor the hallways from their offices, and if they see that something is wrong, they can address it immediately. The upgrades began at the schools during the summer and work was completed at the end of October, Beels said. The new equipment, monitoring systems and installation cost $157,900; the district used money from its technology fund to make the upgrades. The new high-tech system allows administrators to monitor whats happening in […]
Source www.dailytribune.com
Hopatcong SC School Security Improvements Underway, Superintendent Says
New video and camera surveillance systems are in place to keep students and staff safe. Hopatcong Borough Schools Administration Building in file photo Hopatcong Borough Schools has undertaken an aggressive review of current operational practices with an eye toward improving building security—and improvements are already underway and ongoing, according to a school district statement. The district’s goal, according to Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Randina, is to ensure greater scrutiny of all visitors, staffers and students entering and exiting Hopatcong school buildings. Several changes to the district’s security system are in place or in progress: Surveillance cameras are being placed in locations not adequately monitored. An access control system is being installed that automatically opens and locks doors on a schedule. It requires the use of access swipe cards by staff members. When a locked door is opened by an unauthorized person, the system registers as an alarm event on surveillance video. Wireless cameras are being planned to monitor the major athletic fields. All main school entrances will be modified to include real-time camera surveillance with intercoms and electronic buzzer entry systems. Randina said security planning will continue to be modified as needed based on suggestions from trained police officers as well as school security personnel.
Source hopatcong-sparta.patch.com
Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies Canada Works To Keep Educational Facilities Safe
| 16.10.2013, 19:51 | 117 Aufrufe | 0 | MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Oct. 16, 2013) – Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (IRST) Canada is pleased to announce its commitment to safe schools with the launch of a suite of information resources to help school boards, educators, college security, physical plant managers and construction professionals involved in educational facility design and maintenance enhance the safety of students, staff and visitors. “With the start of the new school year, it’s important for those who have a role in protecting students to be well prepared,” says Mark Wilson, General Manager, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies Canada. “We have developed these resources to help guide those with responsibility for school safety. We want this year – and every year – to be a safe school year.” The resources can be accessed free of charge at www.doorsecurity.ca/safeschools (free login required), and include: Security and Safety Assessments for Colleges and Universities Security and Safety Assessments for K-12 Schools Five case studies featuring K-12 Schools Ten case studies featuring Universities and Colleges Virtual K-12 Campus Tour video Virtual University Campus Tour video The Convergent Campus – Integrating Security Technologies the Right Way video The suite also features on-demand webinars featuring Paul Timm, President of RETA Security, Inc. Timm is a renowned school security expert, boasting credentials that include Physical Security Professional (PSP), as well as experience as a SCAT Member (NOVA) and Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF). The first, School and Campus Safety for Students and Educators, focuses […]
Source www.wallstreet-online.de
30 Local Schools Among 459 Statewide To Get $6 Million In Safety Grants
BY ZACHARY REID Richmond Times-Dispatch A total of 30 schools in 11 central Virginia districts were among 459 schools statewide awarded $6 million in security equipment grants, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Tuesday. The local schools, including Richmond’s Armstrong High and a host of others in suburban counties and outlying cities, will receive $761,506 in grants […]