Orange County Grand Jury • 2022-2023 • Agency Response
Response to: SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: How Prepared Are Orange County Public Schools?

School District The Orange County Grand Jury Superintendent*

Published: September 14, 2023 6 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 12 findings

F1
Law enforcement, first responders, and other stakeholders strong interest in working demonstrated a have 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 agrees with the finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Each Orange County school district should arrange for local law enforcement to do an annual safety inspection of each school. The written safety checklist should include an audit of the integrity of site boundaries and a review of safety plans and policies. This annual safety audit should commence with the 2023-24 school year by October 1, 2023, and annually thereafter. The recommendation requires further analysis. AESD will consult with our local police department to discuss putting this procedure in place.
F2
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 1001 S. East Street intruders on campus, but not all have done so specifically regarding armed assailants. Anaheim, CA 92805 Phone 714-517-7500 The District agrees with this finding. Fax 714-517-8538 www.aesd.org
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
All Orange County school districts should establish a threat identification and assessment system for all school sites to monitor social media, screen for messages of concern, and manage information received in coordination with local law enforcement using MOUs, if necessary, by July 1, 2024. The recommendation has been implemented. AESD uses Gaggle as a monitoring tool and every school has a threat assessment team on campus who follow District threat assessment protocols which includes collaboration with law enforcement and child protective services. The District works with local law enforcement when social media threats are reported to the school staff.
F3
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.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Each Orange County school district, in conjunction with law enforcement, should develop and implement tabletop exercises to be conducted in district schools by December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter. The recommendation requires further analysis. AESD will consult with our local police department to discuss putting this procedure in place.
F4
Safety and security plans for on-campus before and after-school programs are not adequately addressed by school districts. District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether other school districts have adequate safety plans for their before and after school programs. Therefore, the District cannot wholly agree or disagree with this finding. As it relates to the District, our before and after school programs have safety protocols and scheduled emergency drills.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Each Orange County school district should work with local law enforcement to plan and conduct a district-wide active shooter drill by July 1, 2024, and at least every other year thereafter. The recommendation requires further analysis. AESD will consult with our local police department to discuss putting this procedure in place.
F5
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.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
All Orange County school districts should develop a casualty care training program for each school in their district, to be in place by the end of the first semester of the 2023-24 school year and provided annually thereafter. The recommendation requires further analysis. AESD will consult with our local police department to discuss putting this procedure in place.
F6
Not all schools utilize a system for monitoring campus visitors. The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether other school districts utilize a system for monitoring campus visitors. As it relates to the District, we use RAPTOR as our system for monitoring campus visitors.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Safety and security plans for on-campus before and after-school programs need to be addressed more thoroughly by school districts, by July 1, 2024. The recommendation has been implemented. Every school in AESD has a safety and security plan for the before and after school programs.
F7
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 the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether other school districts have implemented mental health counseling programs. As it relates to the District, we have a Community of Support Team consisting of a psychologist, 2 counselors, a nurse, and a behavior health aide at every school to provide mental health support.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Each Orange County school district should obtain and incorporate perimeter camera systems in all district schools by July 1, 2024, or earlier if financially able to do so, and investigate the potential use of cameras that incorporate Artificial Intelligence to enhance threat detection and prevention. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. Every school in AESD will have a camera system
F8
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 agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
All Orange County school districts should review entry procedures on all campuses with an eye toward the use of perimeter fencing, the use of single point entry, and the use of a buzzer and camera system for entry into the main/administrative offices. The recommendation has been implemented. Every school in AESD has perimeter fencing and a single point of entry. The buzzer and camera systems at all schools will be installed by December 2023.
F9
Not all classrooms have window shades, tinted glass, or film to obstruct the interior view from the outside. The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether other school districts have window shades, tinted glass, or film to obstruct the interior view from the outside. As it relates to the District, all exterior windows in the District have shades or tinted windows.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
Each Orange County school district should identify and implement a parent and visitor management system for each school site within the school district. This is to include identified access points, badges, or a similar identification procedure The recommendation has been implemented. AESD uses RAPTOR, a visitor and volunteer information and screening program.
F10
The camera surveillance systems utilized on many campuses require repairs, replacement, or additions. The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding the condition of other school districts' camera systems. As it relates to the District, all our camera surveillance systems are functional.
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
Each Orange County school district should implement training for all staff to identify threat-related behaviors and provide a procedure for reporting the behavior by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. The recommendation has been implemented. Every school in AESD has a threat assessment team that provides information on how to report threat-related behaviors to the staff.
F11
Many schools do not have perimeter fencing completely enclosing their campus. The District partially disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding whether other school districts have perimeter fencing enclosing their campuses. As it relates to the District, every school in AESD has perimeter fencing enclosing their campus.
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
All Orange County school districts should develop a plan to implement or enhance mental health counseling for all schools by December 31, 2024. The recommendation has been implemented. Every school in AESD has a team with a psychologist, 2 counselors, a nurse and a behavior health aide.
F12
A number of school districts have school site administrative offices that remain unlocked on a daily basis. The District agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R12
Each Orange County school district should assess the need for SROs or additional SROs, reaching out to appropriate community partners to facilitate funding by July 1, 2024. The recommendation requires further analysis. AESD will consult with our local police department to discuss the need for SRO's.

Additional Recommendations 1

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

* 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.