Earlier this week I posted some Wordless Wednesday photos sent by John Lozano of Allegion, which showed a ratchet strap being used to secure a classroom door. John also sent me today’s Fixed-it Friday photos, illustrating another classroom locking method. I fully realize that school districts are doing anything they can to secure classroom doors in case of an active shooter event or other incident, but I do not recommend the method shown here.
The door in today’s photos probably has a traditional classroom function lockset. This lock requires someone with a key to open the door and insert the key in the outside lever to lock it. Obviously this is not ideal, but the barricade device pictured here also requires the door to be opened for the angle bracket to be installed. There are other problems with this method, which you can read about in this Decoded article.
In some schools with existing traditional classroom function locksets, policies have been set to require the outside lever to be kept in the locked position at all times. Lock functions can sometimes be changed in the field (there’s a video on this page); in some cases new locks may be needed. Many school districts have combined security upgrades with changes needed for existing schools to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). School security and safety are important enough to merit the investment.
After the 2021 school shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan, there was a lot of publicity surrounding the use of classroom barricade devices at the school. A detailed report on the shooting was recently released, and in yesterday’s post I shared an update to an article in Campus Safety Magazine that addressed some of the report’s findings related to barricade devices. I highly recommend reading the update if not the full after-action report.
For additional information on school security and safety, visit the website of The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), and download the PASS School Security Guidelines, or access resources on classroom barricade devices.
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I give up
How does it secure the door??
A few kicks or just turning the lever, looks like it would fall off?
Hi Charles –
I think the end of the angle is going into the strike plate and the pin keeps the door from being opened.
– Lori
Ohhhh
That makes engineering sense.
I will admit someone was being clever with this solution, using common and cheap hardware store parts that don’t require permanent attachment. On top of that, the coupler pin will be difficult for (some) kids to use, limiting shenanigans. Egress, safety and best-practice concerns aside, I can imagine that for many doors, the clearance gap won’t be sufficient for this apparatus, and much damage and scraped paint will ensue.
I completely agree, Todd.
– Lori
Okay, I’m missing something. I can see how that device would prevent a door from latching, but it is being installed on the pull side of the door, I don’t see how it would hold the door closed.
Hi Carl –
I think the end of the angle is going into the strike plate and the pin is supposed to prevent the door from being opened.
– Lori
It’s like stacking penny’s between the door and frame to keep it from opening. Will only hold for so long before you can force the door open,