Orange County Grand Jury • 2017-2018 • Agency Response
Response to: Capistrano Unified School District

Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees Capistranc*

Published: June 15, 2018 5 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F6, F7

Findings and Recommendations 6 findings

F2
The implementation of security measures for schools, in many cases, is limited by funding. Response to F.2.: The Capistrano Unified School District agrees with this finding. The extent to which our schools can implement the type and extent of 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.: Capistrano Unified School District constantly has staff conducting safety walks. In areas where there is a potential danger or if there is a threat to the site, fencing may be installed. Staff annually presents to the Board an update on safety and security and will continue to provide feedback and updates on campus fencing. Capistrano Unified School District is considering a bond measure that would give the District the fiscal resources to strengthen our school's perimeters.
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 Capistrano Unified School District agrees with this finding. Of the fifty- 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Capistrano Unified School District June 15, 2018 six schools within our district, forty can be considered to reflect an "open and inviting" atmosphere.
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.: Capistrano Unified School District agrees and already requires sites to maintain a check-in/check-out log and to issue visitor badges. Staff provides training every August to administrative staff to remind employees of these required procedures.
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. Response to F.4.: Capistrano Unified School District disagrees with this finding as it pertains to our schools. The District has Board Policies and Administrative Regulations outlining these requirements. Every Capistrano Unified School District site requires visitors to sign in and sign out. District policy requires all adults on campus to have an identifier. The District issues specific badges to identify visitors, tier 1or tier 2 volunteers, and staff. Badges are required to be worn on campus and in every classroom. Anyone who is not in compliance will be removed from campus. The District is renewing its efforts to monitor and provide training to administrative staff to ensure all schools are compliant regarding visitor procedures.
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.) 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Capistrano Unified School District June 15, 2018 Response to R.4.: Capistrano Unified School District is piloting a program called Raptor, which captures the driver's license photo and puts it on a badge. It also conducts a background check on the visitor. Due to funding limitations, full implementation may not be feasible.
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.: Capistrano Unified School District disagrees with this finding as it pertains to our schools. As previously stated, all visitors and volunteers are required to wear badges. All staff members are required to wear their identification badges at all times as well. All adults on campus should have an identification badge while on campus. Again, the District is renewing its efforts to monitor and provide training to administrative staff to ensure all schools are compliant regarding adults wearing required identification. F. 6. 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.: The Capistrano Unified School District agrees with this finding. This requirement is logistically impossible to enforce. Students are currently required to have an ID card in their possession at all times. Enforcement with limited resources and continual loss of ID cards are challenges in requiring students to wear them. F. 7. 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 Capistrano Unified School District disagrees with this finding. Security staff at our school sites is issued radios. The radios are tested monthly during our radio check.
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.: Capistrano Unified School District agrees and has already included this requirement in policy and implemented this requirement.
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 Capistrano Unified School District agrees with this finding. The District ... 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Capistrano Unified School District June 15, 2018 has School Resource Officers (SRO) designated contact for every site. When security incidents are reported, SROs or staff escort the individuals off 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.S.: Capistrano Unified School District will consider creating such a database based on funding and the logistics of managing.
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 Capistrano Unified School District disagrees with this finding. We require a school security assessment as part of our annual safety plan requirements. Every school completes this assessment. 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.: Capistrano Unified School District already requires each site to submit a school security assessment annually in their safety plan. Sincere Kirsten M. Vital Superintendent 2017-2018 Orange County Grand Jury Report Safer Schools - What Can We Do? Response of Capistrano Unified School District June 15, 2018

* 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.