Hardin County Schools staff and school resource officers updated the board on the district's recently purchased Raptor Technologies safety-management suite, explaining how the system will be used to alert staff, manage visitors and speed reunification during emergencies.

Lieutenant Mark Gillingham, the district SRO assigned to several schools, described multiple access points including desktop login, a mobile app and issued panic-alert devices. "You can actually go in there, click team assist, and then scroll through those options," Gillingham said, noting team assist options let staff indicate the type of incident (medical, fight, other) so first responders know what to expect.

Gillingham and district staff described five critical situation types the system supports: soft lockdown, hard lockdown, evacuation, shelter-in-place and a newly developed "hold" status to keep students in classrooms for situations that require EMS access without hallway congestion.

On visitor management, staff said front-office staff will scan driver's licenses into Raptor, which checks the National Registered Offender database and can flag banned individuals or people subject to restraining orders across district campuses. Staff said the system does not store extensive personal data beyond names and does not retain license images.

The district also purchased a reunification module and has established three MOU partner sites for off-site reunification. An eight-hour district-level training by Raptor is scheduled in January, followed by a mock reunification run with volunteer students and parents before rolling training out to building-level administrators.

Board members asked how the district handles visitors with criminal histories; staff said some individuals are banned from district properties, while others may request prior authorization through the superintendent's office for specific events.

No action was required; the presentation was informational and staff thanked the board for approving the purchase earlier this year.