Orange County Grand Jury
• 2017-2018
• Agency Response
Response to:
Tustin Unified School District
Confidential The Honorable Charles Margines Presiding Judge of the Superior Court*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
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 Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding. The extent to which a school or district can implement security measures is often dependent on funding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
School districts should re-evaluate the lack of secure fencing on all school campuses and present a report to their respective boards by December 31, 2018, outlining their plans to make campuses more secure. (F.2, F.3) Response to R.2.: Tustin Unified School District has implemented the recommendation to re-evaluate fencing security and present findings to the TUSD Board of Education. An analysis of all TUSD site perimeter fencing was conducted by Maintenance and Operations Staff in April of 2018. While improvements could be made to school site fencing, no additional fencing is needed to encourage a single point of entry during the school day at any of the TUSD school site campuses. These findings were included in a presentation made to the TUSD Board of Education as a part a "Facilities Funding Workshop" on May 21, 2018.
F3
Many Orange County school campuses were constructed to reflect an "open and inviting" atmosphere but are now faced with physical and philosophical security issues that challenge this thinking. Response to F.3.: The Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding. Each of our 29 school sites can be seen to reflect an "open and inviting" atmosphere. However, TUSD schools have been modernized in recent years to include aesthetically pleasing, and costly, perimeter fencing. This fencing is an attempt to limit entry to each school site to a single point during the school day.
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.: Tustin Unified School District will implement a sign-in procedure at all campuses starting with the beginning of the 2018-19 school year. While visitor sign-in procedures were already in place across TUSD sites, procedures surrounding the maintenance of records, requirements for photo ID, and issuing of a visitor sticker/badge will be added.
F4
While every Orange County school district reported the use of a campus visitor sign-in process, there is a lack of procedural consistency among school campuses. BOARD OF EDUCATION Jonathan Abelove · Tammie Bullard · Lynn Davis · James Laird · Francine Scinto 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Tustin Unified School District June 27, 2018 Response to F.4.: The Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding.
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.: Tustin Unified School District will require all visitors and volunteers entering campus to produce a photo ID as a part of more stringent sign-in procedures beginning at the start of the 2018-19 school year.
F5
Many districts or school campuses do not require all teachers, staff, and volunteers to wear ID badges while on campus, making identification of authorized personnel difficult for substitute teachers, student teachers, visitors, volunteers, and first responders. Response to F.5.: Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding. TUSD does issue ID badges to all staff, but have not required to be worn at all times.
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.: Tustin Unified School District will require all faculty and staff to wear a visible photo ID while on campus at the start of the 2018-19 school year.
F6
Currently, student ID badges, which could easily distinguish students from non-students of similar age, are not required to be worn by Orange County middle and high school students. Response to F.6.: Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding.
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.: Tustin Unified School District does not feel recommendation R.6 is warranted at the present time. TUSD requires all secondary students to be in possession of their student ID, and it is needed to enter and leave any TUSD campus during the school day. 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Tustin Unified School District June 27, 2018
F7
Campus personnel and volunteers, while on duty outside the classroom, have an inconsistent usage or availability of communication devices for emergency situations. Response to F.7.: The Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding.
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.: Tustin Unified School District will re-evaluate the availability of communication devices at each school site or district facility for the 2018-19 school year. TUSD will expand the availability of two-way radios where necessary to assure instant communication. TUSD will also continue to explore ways to enhance communication across the district through cell phone apps like "Titan HST."
F8
There is no documentation or reporting protocol within the districts of individual security incidents, making it difficult to track, analyze, and summarize such incidents. Response to F.8.: The Tustin Unified School District disagrees partially with this finding. TUSD is not aware of a definition that is consistent across Orange County of what constitutes a "security incident." With that being said, TUSD does have a procedure in place for notifying our Student Services Office and Director of Communications each time that an incident requires emergency response or whenever there is a significant disruption on campus.
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.: Tustin Unified School District will require that school sites report incidents involving unauthorized access to the Student Services Coordinator. Such incidents will be logged and able to be reported to Orange County Department of Education as requested. A clear definition of what constitutes a reportable incident with regard to unauthorized access will be needed to assure all sites and districts are reporting accurately and results are comparable.
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 Tustin Unified School District agrees with this finding as written, but is one of the Districts that does have a site safety assessment procedure in place. A County-endorsed tool for school security assessments would be valuable. 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.: Tustin Unified School District will continue executing annual "Safety Walks" to make sure emergency supplies are fully stocked, facilities are as secure as possible, and that site Principals are well informed for the creation of school safety plans. Sincerely, 15 24 Dr. Grant Litfin Asst. Superintendent, Administrative Services
* 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.