Orange County Grand Jury • 2017-2018 • Agency Response
Response to: Safer Schools – What Can We Do? 05/03/18

Safer Schools - What Can We Do?*

Published: June 25, 2018 4 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F2
The implementation of security measures for schools, in many cases, is limited by funding. Response to F.2.: The La Habra City School District agrees with this finding. The extent to which our school can implement the type and extent of security measures is often dependent on funding. Many Orange County school campuses were constructed to reflect an "open and inviting"
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
a report to their respective boards by December 31, 2018, outlining their plans to make campuses more secure. (F.2, F.3) Board of Education IDA MACMURRAY, President CYNTHIA AGUIRRE, Clerk/Vice-President SANDI BALTES, Member JOHN A. DOBSON, Member La Habra City School District OFELIA HANSON, Member 500 North Walnut, La Habra, California 90631-3769 JOANNE CULVERHOUSE, Ed.D., Superintendent Response to R.2.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report.
F3
atmosphere but are now faced with physical and philosophical security issues that challenge this thinking. Response to F.3.: The La Habra City School District agrees with this finding. Of the nine schools within our district, nine can be considered to reflect an "open and inviting" atmosphere. While every Orange County school district reported the use of a campus visitor sign-in process,
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
School districts should implement procedures to ensure that all campuses maintain a complete, daily log (electronic or manual) of every visitor and volunteer entering and exiting the campus, excluding program events such as awards ceremonies or stage or musical productions. (F.4.) Response to R.3.: The recommendation has been implemented; each school is required to document all visitors.
F4
there is a lack of procedural consistency among school campuses. Response to F.4.: La Habra City School District agrees with this finding as it pertains to its schools. Board of Education IDA MACMURRAY, President CYNTHIA AGUIRRE, Clerk/Vice-President SANDI BALTES, Member JOHN A. DOBSON, Member La Habra City School District OFELIA HANSON, Member 500 North Walnut, La Habra, California 90631-3769 JOANNE CULVERHOUSE, Ed.D., Superintendent Many districts or school campuses do not require all teachers, staff, and volunteers to wear ID
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
School districts should implement procedures to ensure that photo identification is required of all campus visitors and volunteers before a visitor's badge is issued. (F.4, F.5.) Response to R.4.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report.
F5
badges while on campus, making identification of authorized personnel difficult for substitute teachers, student teachers, visitors, volunteers, and first responders. Response to F.5.: La Habra City School District agrees with this finding, as it pertains to our schools, we require identification. Currently, student ID badges, which could easily distinguish students from non-students of
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
School districts should implement procedures to ensure that all faculty and staff are required to wear visible photo ID badges while on campus. (F.5.) Response to R.5.: The recommendation has been implemented.
F6
similar age, are not required to be worn by Orange County middle and high school students. Response to F.6 La Habra City School District agrees with this finding as it pertains to its schools. Campus personnel and volunteers, while on duty outside the classroom, have an inconsistent
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
All school districts with middle or high school campuses should consider using student ID cards in a format to be worn as student ID badges while on campus. (F.6.) Response to R.6.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report
F7
usage or availability of communication devices for emergency situations. Response to F.7.: La Habra City School District agrees with this finding as it pertains to its schools. There is no documentation or reporting protocol within the districts of individual security
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
School districts should evaluate available communication devices and ensure that custodial and supervisory personnel, as well as safety resource officers, playground supervisors and coaches, have two-way radios or equivalent communication devices with them at all times, enabling instant two-way communication with the office. (F.7.) Response to R.7.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report.
F8
incidents, making it difficult to track, analyze, and summarize such incidents. Response to F.8.: The La Habra City School District disagrees with this finding as it pertains to our schools, the District requires all incidents be reported.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
School districts should consider requiring that all campus incidents of unauthorized access be recorded, tracked, and reported to the district office on a quarterly basis. All districts should share these reports with the Orange County Department of Education. (F.8.) Response to R.8.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report. Board of Education IDA MACMURRAY, President CYNTHIA AGUIRRE, Clerk/Vice-President SANDI BALTES, Member JOHN A. DOBSON, Member La Habra City School District OFELIA HANSON, Member 500 North Walnut, La Habra, California 90631-3769 JOANNE CULVERHOUSE, Ed.D., Superintendent
F9
While every Orange County school develops a school safety plan, few schools have used an individual school security assessment to identify deficiencies or to develop the required plan. Response to F.9.: The La Habra City School District agrees with this finding. As it pertains to our schools, the District does have individual site threat assessments RECOMMENDATIONS
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
School districts should evaluate requiring each school to perform a school security assessment to evaluate their current school safety plan. (F.9) Response to R.9.: The recommendation requires further analysis. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report Sincerely, Christeen Betz, Chief Business Official

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.