Cypress School District*

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; the establishment of MOUs between law enforcement and school districts would strengthen this cooperation. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding.

All Orange County public schools studied by the Grand Jury state 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 Cypress School District agrees with this finding.

While all districts prioritize the safety of students and staff, the attention and resources devoted to active shooter preparedness and responses vary from district to district. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding. —— We inspire and empower . . . Every student, Every moment, for Every opportunity! - Board of Trustees: Candice Kern 🍨 Sandra Lee 🔹 Brian Nakamura 🍨 Lydia Sondhi, Ph.D. 🍨 Troy Tanaka Superintendent: Anne Silavs Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report entitled School Shootings: How Prepared are Orange County Public Schools? September 14, 2023

Safety and security plans for on-campus before and after-school programs are not adequately addressed by school districts. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning the safety plans of other Orange County school districts and whether or not on-campus before and after-school programs are adequately addressed. Therefore, the district cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because the safety procedures described in its Comprehensive School Safety Plans would also apply to before and after-school programs on its campuses. The district partially agrees with this finding because it does not currently conduct emergency drills during before or after-school programs on its campuses.

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

Not all schools utilize a system for monitoring campus visitors. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information on whether or not all schools in Orange County utilize a system for monitoring campus visitors and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because all of its schools utilize the Raptor system for monitoring campus visitors. The district also has Board Policies and Administrative Regulations in place that describe protocols for managing and monitoring campus visitors.

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 Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning the implementation of mental health counseling in Orange County school districts and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because the level of funding and resources available to support mental health varies among school districts, which impacts the degree to which school districts can provide mental health counseling services. The district partially disagrees with this finding because, while it does not have the resources to employ school counselors, it does provide students with mental health counseling, as needed, using its school psychologists and through agreements with outside service providers. Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report entitled School Shootings: How Prepared are Orange County Public Schools? September 14, 2023

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 Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning how cities and school districts allocate funds for SROs and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because SROs are a valuable resource for school safety. The district partially disagrees with this finding because most school districts do not typically hire SROs, law enforcement agencies do. School districts do not have control over how law enforcement agencies allocate funds.

Not all classrooms have window shades, tinted glass, or film to obstruct the interior view from the outside. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning the window tint or window coverings in all Orange County school districts and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because it utilizes window tint or window coverings to obscure the interior view of its classrooms from the outside.

The camera surveillance systems utilized on many campuses require repairs, replacement, or additions. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning the camera surveillance systems on all Orange County school campuses and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because camera surveillance systems do require maintenance from time to time, and additional cameras would provide an increased safety benefit. However, the district partially disagrees with this finding because it utilizes camera surveillance systems to monitor the perimeter of all its school campuses and regularly maintains them to ensure they are functional.

Many schools do not have perimeter fencing completely enclosing their campus. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district does not have firsthand information concerning the perimeter fencing around all Orange County Schools and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because it has perimeter fencing that fully surrounds its school campuses. Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report entitled School Shootings: How Prepared are Orange County Public Schools? September 14, 2023

A number of school districts have school site administrative offices that remain unlocked on a daily basis. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding.