School Shootings: How Prepared Are Orange County Public Schools? The District has thoroughly reviewed and considered*

Law enforcement, first responders, and other stakeholders have demonstrated a strong interest in working cooperatively with Orange County public schools to mitigate the risk of an active shooter incident; establishment of MOUs between law enforcement and school districts would strengthen this cooperation. The District partially disagrees with this finding. The District maintains strong partnerships with local law enforcement without MOUs. From the District's perspective, an MOU is not required to strengthen cooperation unless shared resources are involved or role clarification is necessary. The Orange County Grand Jury September 5, 2023

All Orange County public schools studied by the Grand Jury stated that they conducted or have scheduled drills within the current school year on emergency procedures addressing intruders on campus, but not all have done so specifically regarding armed assailants. The District agrees with this finding regarding the District's past practices. The District does not know firsthand whether Orange County public schools have conducted drills specifically regarding armed assailants.

While all districts prioritize the safety of students and staff, the attention and resources devoted to active shooter preparedness and response vary from district to district. The District agrees with this finding.

Safety and security plans for on-campus before and after-school programs are not adequately addressed by school districts. The District partially agrees with this finding. While the District maintains close collaboration with relevant staff and agencies regarding safety at before and after-school programs, there is a continued need for additional planning and communication.

While many Orange County public schools have installed fences, cameras, and other methods to address the issue of active shooters on a campus, there are still opportunities for improvement. The District agrees with this finding.

Not all schools utilize a system for monitoring campus visitors. The Orange County Grand Jury September 5, 2023 The District partially disagrees with this finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether or not schools across Orange County have systems for monitoring campus visitors, therefore, cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding as it relates to all districts. Regarding the Huntington Beach City School District, the District disagrees wholly with this finding since all schools in the District use the Raptor system to monitor visitors on campus.

While there is an increased awareness of the benefits of mental health counseling, not all school districts have implemented these programs in all schools. The District partially disagrees with this finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether or not all school district across Orange County have implemented mental health counseling programs, therefore, cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding as it relates to all districts. As it relates to the Huntington Beach City School District, the District disagrees wholly with this finding. The District has increased mental health supports and services across all its schools over the last three years, including but not limited to, adding three school counselors to support the needs of elementary students, freeing up the remaining two counselors to address each of the two middle schools needs; adding a school psychologist to provide educationally-related mental health services and training for other psychologists and staff; conducting universal screening of all students' social emotional skills annually; and additional training for teachers and support staff in addressing the social-emotional and mental health needs of students.

School Resource Officers (SROs) are a valuable asset for school safety, yet many cities/districts do not allocate sufficient funds to hire needed officers. The District partially agrees with this finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding this finding for all districts in Orange County and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding as it relates to all districts. Regarding the Huntington Beach City School District, the District partially agrees with this finding. The Huntington Beach Police Department has assigned two full-time SROs to support the two school districts entirely located in Huntington Beach, as well as three other school districts with some schools in Huntington Beach. While the District agrees that additional SRO support would be helpful, the District's primary focus for funding has been on providing The Orange County Grand Jury September 5, 2023 students with mental health and social-emotional supports and other preventative measures, which aligns with the functions of a school district.

Not all classrooms have window shades, tinted glass, or film to obstruct the interior view from the outside. The District agrees with this finding.

The camera surveillance systems utilized on many campuses require repairs, replacement, or additions. The District disagrees with this finding as it relates to the District. The District maintains surveillance cameras covering extensive locations at every school site. Additionally, maintenance procedures are in place to ensure cameras are working properly and serviced regularly. The District does not have firsthand information regarding this finding for all campuses in Orange County and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding as it relates to all campuses in the County.

Many schools do not have perimeter fencing completely enclosing their campus. The District disagrees with this finding as it relates to the District. The District has perimeter fencing at every school site except one school site that is currently under construction. This school will have perimeter fencing upon completion of construction. The District does not have firsthand information regarding this finding for all campuses in Orange County and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding as it relates to all campuses in the County.

A number of school districts have school site administrative offices that remain unlocked on a daily basis. The Orange County Grand Jury September 5, 2023 The District agrees with this finding.