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MSD Steuben County outlines new visitor controls, secure-passes and student safety committee in district safety update
Summary
District safety staff described a pilot secure-pass system at Angola High and Middle schools, expanded visitor ID checks, updated camera and signage work, and a student safety advisory committee; administrators emphasized training and reducing human error as priorities.
Speaker 9 (Mister Hall) delivered the MSD of Steuben County school safety update, outlining multiple new and expanded measures the district is piloting to strengthen building security.
Hall said the district has updated annual safety plans and is piloting an electronically monitored secure-pass system at Angola High School and Angola Middle School to control hallway traffic. "They initiate a pass on their Chromebook, and the teacher either proves to recognize it, and it pops up on our system," Hall said, describing a workflow in which a digital pass is created and a physical restroom-style pass remains with the student.
Hall also described a visitor management pilot that will require guests to scan government IDs that are checked against national databases; if the pilot succeeds the district may expand the system to additional buildings. He said the elementary schools likely will not adopt the secure-pass system initially but could receive visitor-management controls.
The update addressed camera blind spots caused by vegetation and building siting. Hall said building grounds staff are trimming or removing trees that obstruct exterior cameras; he cited Henry Park as an example where a tree repeatedly blocked a camera's view.
Hall reviewed operational changes and training the district has adopted. Officers Noel and Liu participated in ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training, and the district has integrated portions of the I Love You Guys Foundation protocol to allow tailored responses (for example, using the alert stage without full lockdown). "The biggest thing that we can run into is, human error," Hall said, adding that radios in classrooms, phone-based PA access and crisis software give staff more immediate control during incidents.
Hall described a modified approach to canine searches that avoids shutting down entire buildings: the district narrows searches to a single hallway during a class period to reduce disruption while still using canine detection.
He also flagged an emerging enforcement challenge: modern vape devices disguised as inhalers, key fobs, or small containers. Hall said vape sensors have helped identify incidents but that device variety complicates detection.
To increase student involvement, Hall announced a student safety advisory committee of about 25 students (grades 9–12) who will serve as liaisons between the student body and administration. He also described plans for a large-scale reunification exercise with first responders next summer so the district can test reunification procedures in a realistic scenario.
Hall closed by emphasizing the limits of technology without training: the district continues to invest in staff training and incident drills to reduce human error and improve response times.
The presentation concluded with board questions about SRO funding, pass limits, and implementation timing; Hall said pass limits will be determined by administration and that the pilot launch is in its implementation phase.
