School Safety and Security
A safe and secure learning environment is essential for learning. This page will acquaint you with some of the resources about school security that the New Jersey School Boards Association has developed in recent years.
The resources include special reports on school security, articles in School Leader and School Board Notes, webinars, videos and podcasts.
Explore our resources below and contact us if you have any questions.
Effective security planning must involve every element of the school community and the broader community.”
– “What Makes Schools Safe?”
NJSBA Task Force Reports
In 2014, an NJSBA task force committee, which included school board members, NJSBA staff and other education stakeholders, published a comprehensive report on school security, “What Makes Schools Safe?” Task force members consulted with experts in law enforcement, security, school climate and other fields, reviewed current developments affecting the implementation and funding of school security measures, identified best practices that would promote student safety and reviewed relevant NJSBA policy to ascertain whether it would recommend additions or changes to existing Association policy.
In 2018, a similar committee published an updated report that considered recent developments in school security, including but not limited to legislation,
security personnel, technology, emergency preparedness and school climate.
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School Security Committee Report
This report updates NJSBA’s 2014 study, What Makes Schools Safe?, and includes 15 new recommendations on response and recovery, law enforcement in schools, cybersecurity, after-school security, the use of schools as polling places, and other areas.
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“What Makes Schools Safe?” Report
The Final Report of the NJSBA School Security Task Force includes 45 recommendations addressing local school district practices and state and federal requirements in six key areas: security personnel; school climate; policy and planning; communications/ community relations; physical security; and finances.
School Security
Below are selected articles from School Leader and School Board Notes about school safety and security, covering topics ranging from school security drills, to school design features that promote security and how to work with local law enforcement and more. Interested readers can also use the general search function on this website to access additional articles and information.
- School Security: Tips on Promoting Safety.
- School Security Roundtable.
- Asked and Answered: Navigating Safety and Security.
- Keeping Students Safe in Belleville.
- New Legislation Impacting School Security Drills.
Featured Resources: Videos
Check out more of our popular video resources below:
- Proactive Prevention: Emotionally Supporting Students, Teachers and Staff.
- YouTube: Conversations on School Security: The School Resource Officer.
- YouTube: Police and Schools: Building a Collaborative Relationship.
- YouTube: Security Staffing: Options for School Districts.
- YouTube: Administrators: Looking at Schools with an Eye Toward Security.
Cybersecurity
Just as it is critically important to ensure the safety and security of our schools and students from physical threats, it is also important to protect them from cybersecurity threats. Public schools hold extensive records and personal information about children and school staff and are vulnerable to ransomware and cyberattacks that can cripple a school network. NJSBA has published several articles and held webinars on how schools can be better protected against cyberattacks.
Explore the following articles on cybersecurity:
- The Important Yet Overlooked Role of School Board Members in Cybersecurity.
- NJSBA at Your Service: Districts Bolster Cybersecurity in Virtual Classrooms.
- Intensifying Cyberthreats Against School Districts Demand Vigilance.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Highlights K-12 Cybersecurity Challenges in Detailed Report.
Featured Resources: Videos
Explore more videos about cybersecurity:
