Shootings in schools have become more frequent: why in New York they don’t lock the front doors of educational institutions

After the recent tragic shooting at an elementary school in Texas, there has been talk of whether New York should lock the front doors of educational buildings. Silive.

In New York City, all doors in public school buildings are locked and guarded by alarms - with the exception of the main entrance. The administration under former Mayor Bill de Blasio opposed the idea of ​​locking the front doors of public schools.

The city's Department of Education (DOE) has previously stated that the main entrance to every school building is monitored at all times. And if the security agent is temporarily absent from duty, another security agent or designated employee will replace him.

UNDER CONSIDERATION

Now Mayor Eric Adams and School Chancellor David C. Banks are leaning towards the idea of ​​closing the main entrance to school buildings. Banks confirmed last week that the front doors to the school buildings were unlocked.

“We all understand the urgent need to do more at this time,” Banks said. “That's one of the reasons we're here today. And that is why we suggest locking the doors when students are at school. Visitors should be required to stop and introduce themselves before they enter.”

Upon entering a New York City public school, visitors walk past the front desk to a school security agent. They must show identification and state the reason for visiting, and register at the main entrance. Some schools require visitors to wear a visitor pass sticker until they leave the building.

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But if someone wants to cause harm, Banks believes, because he is already in the school building.

“Today I spoke to the head of the school principals union, who suggested that we lock the front doors. As soon as students enter the school, the entrance doors must be locked. And if someone wants to enter our schools, they will need to press the bell. They will need to take certain actions so that we can understand who came to our school. Access to it should not be so easy,” said Banks.

HIGH PRICE

Last week, the school chancellor met with local union leaders to discuss the possibility of closing the front doors of school buildings. As it turned out, closing the main entrance to every public school in the five districts would be costly.

Schools should be equipped with new technology to open doors remotely, such as a buzzer system. Such systems have already been installed in some private schools on Staten Island and allow visitors to be identified before they are granted access to the building.

According to one New York security company, the approximate cost of installing a system with a buzzer is $1500-$1800 per door. Another Staten Island-based company said parts cost as low as $200, with installation costs depending on door type, door frame material, and more.

There are over 31 public schools in District 70. If they each installed a buzzer entry system on one door, the total cost would be between $105 and $000. So such new technologies will require a significant part of the city budget.

POTENTIAL FAILURE

It must be said that the buzzer system in public schools can also malfunction.

Parents often pick up their children from school later or earlier, and extracurricular staff, psychologists and speech therapists come and go from the school on their own schedule. If remote door unlocking technology is not installed in schools, school personnel and school security agents will have to constantly check every visitor and unlock the door.

Assembly members Michael Reilly and Michael Tannusis wrote a letter last month urging Adams and Banks to consider implementing a policy of blocking all outside entrances to the city's public schools during the school day.

“Respectfully, we ask your offices to investigate the feasibility of implementing a lockdown policy for all street-facing entry points in New York City Public Schools during the academic process,” the assembly members wrote. – Educational buildings will remain accessible to the public, but with an additional layer of security. School security agents will check on people trying to break into the building.”

And in order not to interfere with emergency response, there are technologies available to allow first responders to gain access to the building bypassing the castle.