Safety and Security at Nevada County Schools

Recommendations 8

• R1
  Nevada Joint Union High School This recommendation is partially implemented. The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools' office holds a monthly meeting to bring agencies together in a standing group, Community Agencies United for Safe Schools and Safe Streets, aka CAUS5SS. Held on the first Friday of each month, and hosted by the Grass Valley Police Department, schools, Nevada County office of the Sheriff, Probation, Child Protective Services, California Highway Patrol, the Office of Emergency Services, Durham School Services and Behavioral Health each attend and share immediate concerns in our schools and on the streets. At the last meeting, it was reported that the NCSOS hosted a South County Safety Forum on Monday, May 7, 2018 at the Bear River High School Theater. Representatives from Nevada County OES, Sheriff's office, CHP, Cal Fire, Higgins Fire District and South County school administrators heard about the collaboration efforts of the aforementioned agencies in working to keep schools safe. The Nevada Joint Union High School District hopes to hold a similar event in the North County in the fall. The Board and Administration of the Nevada Joint Union High school District share the concern of the Grand Jury regarding the use of social media by parents, students and community during possible lockdown situations. The NIUHSD strives to communicate truthful information on a timely basis through our School Messenger system and School District Social Media accounts. Unfortunately, our efforts are often thwarted by unverified information being shared on social Media diverting our attention from the task at hand. The Nevada Joint Union High School District continues to look forward to ongoing collaboration with the NSCOS' office and community agencies as we strive to develop strategies to communicate timely, truthful information and discourage unfounded rumors on social media. Penn Valley Union Elementary School District Agree. The appropriate use of social media by parents and students during actual school emergencies should be addressed in the parents' guide referred to in R1. Pleasant Ridge Union School District Social media plays a large role in the response to emergencies and drill exercises and should be considered in the preparation of Comprehensive School Safety Plans. Nevada County Superintendent of Schools does not have the authority to require school districts to participate in the development of such a plan, but Pleasant Ridge Union School District is willing to collaborate and develop best practices. May of this school year South County schools organized with NCSOS a safety forum which included all first responders of Nevada County. Twin Ridges School District Agree. The district agrees in the idea of having a uniform and workable plan. However, the rural isolation of the Twin Ridges School District reduces and limits the extent of dissemination of information through all social media. Many of our families are not connected either out of choice or the unavailability of these platforms. Union Hill School District Social media plays a large role in the response to emergencies and drill exercises and should be considered in the preparation of Comprehensive School Safety Plans. Union Hill School District has included the role of social media in the Comprehensive School Safety Plan. Union Hill School District does not have authority over Nevada County Superintendent of Schools but will work with NCSOS staff as needed to consider the appropriate use of social media in a crisis. Nevada County Sheriff’s Office This recommendation is clearly directed at the NCSOS. We will work to help develop a workable plan if requested by NCSOS. Grass Valley Police Department The recommendation has been implemented. In early June of 2018, Grass Valley Police Department staff, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office staff, and Nevada County Superintendent of Schools personnel met to discuss the development of a plan to provide uniform templates to all area schools that could be disseminated via social media during emergencies and training exercises. Appropriate language for a variety of possible scenarios was discussed. The templates included general instructions and information and had space to add specifics depending on the location and event. The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools’ office was then going to distribute these templates to area schools along with a plan for distribution method and timing. Nevada City Police Department The Nevada City Police Department currently utilizes social media and has their own Facebook page where we would have the ability to disseminate information related to actual emergencies or training exercises. The Superintendent of Schools is in possession of templates that can be used as guidelines in disseminating information during such events. These templates were going to be distributed to local schools for review and input. Responses to Recommendation #3
• R2
  The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools should coordinate with school districts, law enforcement, parents and guardians, and students to develop a uniform, workable plan that responds to the appropriate use of social media during actual emergencies and drill exercises. • The SoS has developed a model for best practices relating to the use of social media, Communication During an Emergency. This model has been distributed as part of the generic guide titled School Safety Information for Parents. It includes, but is not limited to: o prohibiting mass texts and calls to students’ personal cell phones as they may alert intruders, o prohibiting mass texts and calls to students’ personal cell phones that tie up the system and prevent safe and effective responses, and o prohibiting unverified social media posts that may cause confusion and misinformation.
• R3
  The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools should develop the means to train teachers in uniform safety and security protocols and include the exercise and use of the “ALICE” standard in each of the schools. Additionally, each school district’s board should direct and fund the deployment of this training and exercise. • The SoS has offered free training to all schools and teachers through its Safety School Climate Coordinator. All school districts have taken advantage of this training except Union Hill. The ALICE (Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate) standard is a specific response to an active shooter incident. Schools were initially trained in ALICE but have since simplified to the Federal Homeland Security Department’s best practice for response which is referred to as RUN.HIDE.FIGHT. It is believed that RUN.HIDE.FIGHT is easier for administrators, teachers, and students to recall in the midst of an incident.
• R4
  The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools should coordinate with districts and schools to establish a standard means of secure communication between the front office and the teachers, regardless of their location. • On a site-specific basis, improvements have been made to address this concern. Public address systems, speakers, and intercoms in classrooms have been upgraded. While these methods allow for communication in an emergency, they may not be secure. Some schools have an unpublished telephone number that can be used for direct teacher to front office communication via cell or classroom telephone. Many locations have invested in portable two-way radios that allow for continued communication even when a teacher leaves the classroom. This method should be expanded across all schools.
• R5
  Each district and school should conduct a thorough physical evaluation of classroom security and visibility including inside door locks, appropriate shading, and camera systems. Each school should be required to be in conformance with the physical demands and characteristics of a comprehensive school safety plan. • The majority of districts have significantly upgraded camera surveillance of their campuses. Most have done a comprehensive review of their primary classrooms and inside door locks and window shading have been installed. At least three districts have installed lock boxes containing a master key as requested by law enforcement agencies so they would have immediate access to all buildings. At least one district has purchased lockdown kits for every classroom. Most districts responded that evacuation routes were posted throughout the schools and regular drills followed by staff meetings were scheduled. Not all schools have utilized SoS services. Some schools have not implemented inside door locks for all classrooms and locks for other rooms and buildings on their campus or increased camera coverage of their physical plants. This should be a priority project for those schools.
• R6
  The Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, school districts, and local law enforcement should collaborate on the use and deployment of Resource Officers that encompass all of our schools. • The Jury wishes to compliment the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and the Grass Valley Police Department for their efforts to deploy School Resource Officers. The Sheriff’s Office has assigned a School Resource Officer to both Nevada Union and Bear River high schools with additional duties to respond to needs at other schools in their immediate areas. The Grass Valley Police Department has assigned a School Resource Officer to cover the Park Avenue campuses of Silver Springs High School and the Sierra Academy. The Department continues to seek funding to assign School Resource Officers to other Grass Valley campuses. The Nevada City Police Department does not currently employ a School Resource Officer because of limited funding but has participated in activities with the Grass Valley Police Department to acquaint students with officers. The Department hopes to hire a part-time School Resource Officer in the future. The Jury encourages the Grass Valley and Nevada City police departments to investigate potential sources of funding for School Resource Officers. For example, the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) both indicate on their websites that grants are available.
• R7
  A working group of the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, the Grass Valley Police Department, the Nevada City Police Department, Nevada County Behavioral Health (especially concerning behavior of the assailant), and school administration and staff should be created to develop a model program for all schools to utilize when examining and creating their own outside assembly and accounting program. • SoS has initiated a working group to work with the above agencies. The Community Agencies United for Safe Schools and Safe Streets known as CAUSSSS meets monthly. With continued meetings and participation of all agencies involved in CAUSSSS a model plan can be developed, which can be adapted to each school with their particular requirements and needs specific to each schools size, population and campus.
• R8
  Following the creation of a model program for outside assembly and accounting, each school district should direct their schools to exercise this model and, in conjunction with local law enforcement, develop and incorporate the site-specific procedures necessary to conduct a safe and secure school evacuation. • All school districts responded with full or partial agreement. All law enforcement agencies also agreed and stated that they were available to work with schools to develop and assist them in developing site-specific procedures. Nevada Joint Union High School and Union Hill reported that they had implemented the recommendations, including adjustments to assembly areas. In May the southern Nevada County schools along with the SoS organized a school and community forum where all members of the community were invited to understand how each agency is important to overall school safety. Parents may wish to request additional site-specific details from their local schools.