Babylon School District Discusses Safety Measures

BABYLON, NY - In response to the national conversation on school safety started after school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month, the Babylon School District recently reviewed some security measures implemented at local schools.

According to a letter from Superintendent Linda Rozzi, after reviewing the questions, comments, ideas and supports from the Babylon community over the past few weeks, here are some of the measures the district has taken:

• The district and each building have Emergency Response Plans which are assessed yearly. These plans are shared annually prior to the start of school with the state as well as the authorities and are released again whenever any updates may occur. As a school community Babylon performs a myriad of drills, as the plan covers how to respond to all incidents from gas leaks to dangerous intruders or threats from outside. These drills are critical as they help identify ways to improve safety measures.
• The district has partnered with both the Suffolk County Police Department and with an outside security consultant to conduct a risk assessment of each facility. Such an assessment will take place shortly; during this process additional risks (if found) will be identified and then addressed by the district.
• There is already a Panic phone in the school which goes directly to the Suffolk County Police Department.
• The district works with designated School Resource Officers who are uniformed police officers assigned to the district from the 1st precinct and can be seen inside the schools as they regularly touch base with school leaders and often present to older students on various topics from time to time.
• The district employs a security force comprised of active and/or retired law enforcement officers who are trained to react while keeping the safety of civilians a priority.
• The Babylon School District has increased building level security over the past 2 years and will maintain these levels. There are designed security officers who greet students and staff each morning, remain outdoors to keep watch during recess and filed play, patrol hallways during the school day to ensure all doors are in the locked position and secure from the outside, as well as assist with dismissal.
• Last fall, state-of-the-art security camera systems were installed at all facilities. The closed-circuit cameras allow the security guards to closely monitor what happens both inside and outside of the building. The cameras monitor the doorways, parking lots, hallways and athletic field. All cameras are now fully operational, have extensive recording periods with the ability for district officials to check remotely.
• The district maintains a School Campus Security Zone, where no one is to be admitted without displaying the appropriate photo identification with no exceptions.

In the letter, Rozzi also lists some additional measures the school will be taking in the future including:

• Implementing outside intercom systems at each main entrance in which visitors will have to press a button, state their business and show photo ID to the outside camera before being buzzed into the first-catch vestibule.
• Constructing an inner vestibule in the high school main entrance this summer.
• Installing a Visitor Management System in each building next September. Visitors will have to scan their State-issued ID for instant verification against district and school registers and against the National Sex Offender Database. This technology will also trigger a silent alert if anyone prohibited from campus tries to enter.
• Assess lighting surrounding the buildings.
• Tie the alarm system directly to first responders in addition to the security company.
• Use an internet filter that blocks inappropriate material based on site content including search results for websites, images and videos. When devices go home with students, this filter will follow them even when outside of school.

On Mar. 2, the district held its 3rd Annual Legislative Breakfast and Community Summit where school safety was a topic of discussion.

Related:

• Hauppauge School Board Votes To Add Armed Guards To Schools

"Our lawmakers in Albany continue to work on our behalf and have ensured that they will fight to have any state mandates affecting school safety to be funded," the letter reads.

In addition, on April 17, the district will be hosting a "Community Discussion on School Safety" starting at 6 p.m.

"Please know that we will continue to work as an involved team to provide the best learning environment for your children," Rozzi wrote.

What do you think? Is the school district's safety plan enough? Let us know in the comments below.

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