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District 196 details safety upgrades, SRP drills and communications upgrades
Summary
District 196 presented an informational update on school safety measures funded by the 2015 and 2023 bonds, including secure vestibules, automatic lockdown buttons, a confidential tip line, adoption of the I Love You Guys Foundation Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and district-wide two-way radios and mass notification upgrades.
District 196 staff provided an informational briefing to the school board on the district's layered approach to school safety, describing prevention, preparedness and response measures funded in part by the 2015 and 2023 bond referenda.
"School safety is the foundation that supports all four of our district's strategic priorities," Kya Bruce, director of community education and a member of the district emergency preparedness team, told the board. Bruce said investments funded by voter-approved bonds and operational improvements have focused on door and access security, visitor management, secure vestibules, door alarms, key-card access and automatic lockdown buttons installed in 2023.
Bruce described measures across three phases:
- Prevention: secure vestibules, visitor management systems, door alarms, tip line for confidential reporting, and social-emotional learning programs (BARR, PBIS) and planned violence-prevention curriculum. - Preparedness: adoption of the I Love You Guys Foundation Standard Response Protocol (SRP) in 2023, staff training during onboarding, regular drills (fire/evacuation, lockdown, tornado/shelter), and a standard reunification process with family-facing guidance and a district video resource. - Response: expanded surveillance camera coverage, automatic lockdown buttons, a district-standard two-way radio system to ensure interoperable communications, updated mass notification tools, updated emergency go-bags, AEDs and stop-the-bleed kits and distribution of naloxone to schools where appropriate.
Bruce said the district completed an audit of lockdown buttons and updated lockdown messaging to align with SRP. She also noted partnerships with city public-safety agencies and city-provided school resource officers in secondary schools.
Board members asked about the tip line: Bruce said secondary school sites include a confidential tip link on their websites; tip submissions can include photos or screenshots and are routed to building administrators for follow-up. The district is moving to expand violence-prevention training for grades 6-12 and to provide families with information about the reunification process.
Why it matters: the briefing summarized investments and operational changes designed to create consistent practices across the district and to integrate physical security, communication and social-emotional supports.
