Maintaining a safe environment for all students to learn, grow and succeed continues to be a top priority for RISD. The District's goal is to be proactive and to prevent an incident from occurring, rather than being reactive to a major incident involving a breach of campus security. 

The single most important proactive security measure RISD campuses strive to create is a culture of mutual respect and tolerance among students. Character education programs like RTime create opportunities for mutual experiences that build relationships and foster mutual respect among students from early elementary school. At all levels, programs like peer mediation allow students to be a resource for other students in resolving conflicts before they escalate. 

RISD installed the Raptor visitor and volunteer management system at all schools. The new system and accompanying policy require campus visitors to furnish a government-issued, photo ID. Raptor is designed to prevent visitors who are registered sex offenders or otherwise prohibited from being on campus from entering a school, and also allows each school to know at any given time exactly who is in their building and for what purpose. 

Other significant security measures include:

• Security cameras: RISD continues to install new security cameras to allow campus and District personnel to monitor activity at schools. Older cameras are also replaced to keep technology up to date. The 650 cameras installed last year under the 2011 Bond program provide better picture quality and have better surveillance coverage than those they replaced. In all, there are more than 2,000 cameras accessible by District security and administrative staff.
• Double buzz-in/secure vestibules: During the regular school day, all visitors to a campus are able to enter a building only after being "buzzed-in" by campus staff who remotely unlock the outside door. (Cameras and intercoms allow campus staff to verify each visitor's reason for being at the campus.) Once inside the building, visitors enter a secure area and must follow identification and sign-in procedures.
• Elementary, front entrance drop-off: Parents, siblings or other persons bringing their elementary student to school in the mornings are required to drop-off their child(ren) at the front entrance of the school. No one is permitted to walk with the student through the school to their classroom. This security measure allows campuses to know what visitors are inside their building at any given time and is the best way of maintaining a secure building. Campus staff escorts students to their classrooms if necessary.
• Employee electronic keycard access: All employees enter buildings with identification badges that open electronic locks at designated entrances.
• Exterior door sensors: Exterior doors are equipped with sensors that alert appropriate personnel if doors are opened or left ajar.
• Portable metal detector: District safety & security personnel periodically employ unscheduled or metal detector sweeps at school entrances.
• Canine Sweeps: District personnel work with trained canines to conduct visible, unscheduled campus sweeps. Dogs are trained to detect drugs, firearms and other prohibited materials, and virtually every area of a school can be checked, including lockers, backpacks, bathrooms, common areas and automobiles in the parking lot.
• Crimestoppers Program: Each secondary school has an active Crimestoppers program that financially rewards students for providing information about suspected criminal activity.
• Report It Lines: The district maintains an anonymous tip line for students to report anything they see or hear that might make their school less safe. Tips are followed up on by administrators or resource officers.
• School resource officers: All secondary campuses are assigned Richardson or Dallas police officers to assist in enforcing safety and security. Officers work to develop relationships with students and are often in a position to prevent safety/security issues from escalating.

RISD regularly reviews district security plans and policies to ensure that they are up to date and are in line with national best practices. In addition, campus and district administrators are trained to manage and respond to situations through the National Incident Management System. 

If a safety-related incident occurs at or near a school that requires parent notification, each school has the ability to immediately contact parents with telephone/text/email messages. Parents/guardians should ensure their primary telephone contact number is up to date with their child's school.

Story courtesy of Richardson ISD