In yesterday’s post, I shared a link to Paul Timm’s podcast – The Changing Face of School Security. Episode 10 of the podcast features John-Michael Keyes, co-founder and director of a foundation called I Love U Guys, which was formed after John-Michael’s daughter, Emily, was held hostage and then killed in a shooting at Platte Canyon High School.
When Paul asked about changes he expected to see in school security, this was John-Michael’s response:
“That’s part of the interest in this field is it’s constantly evolving, but I’ve gone on a personal rant about a very simple action, and that is lock the door. Lock the door. In absence of that, let’s have the ability to lock that classroom door from inside the classroom, with gross motor skills, by not just teachers but substitutes as well. We’ve had that guidance since 2015, in the Sandy Hook Commission report – that is such a simple step in reducing the risk. Part of this is about establishing the mindset, and it isn’t a mindset of fear – your car locks its doors at 12 miles an hour automatically. Few people in America today leave their home unlocked at night. It’s not hard, let’s lock that classroom door while we’re teaching, and it gives us an additional layer of of protection.”
Some states and local jurisdictions have already adopted requirements for classroom doors that are always locked or that are lockable from inside of the classroom. The International Building Code (IBC) and International Fire Code (IFC) currently permit lockable classroom doors if certain criteria are met, but the codes do not mandate lockable classroom doors.
Should the model codes require locks on classroom doors? WWYD?
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Codes mandating locks might be a good start but I have yet to work with a school district that didn’t have locks on their doors already. Whether their standard is classroom function, classroom secure, office, entry, or even storeroom, with or without closers (usually based on whether the building is sprinklered or not), convenience usually wins out over fire safety or security. (To say nothing about sidelites or door lites or ever-increasing amounts of other internal glazing.)
The only near-foolproof solution would be automatic central locking with connected door operators/hold-opens so all rooms and/or wings can be closed and locked from the front desk, along with pervasive laminated glazing, but no one wants to spend that kind of taxpayer money… we’ve asked!
So is the question, should the code require classroom door be self locking ???
If so interesting question
If the answer is yes,,, Should the code make it retro active?
I have not read the code recently but allowing classrooms to have locks,,, does that extend to other rooms in a school, where students can be located in numbers???
Is there other examples of the code requiring something,,, to protect the public? That is in the same category as self locking doors, to keep someone out?
I can see the code allowing it, as far as mandatory, without a retro requirement, not sure if I would support that.