May 22

Written by: Bret Rachlin
5/22/2009 10:27 AM

As the 2009 school year winds down across the country, CDW Government (CDW-G) announced the results of its 2009 School Safety Index this week. Based on a survey of more than 400 district IT and security directors, the report indicated that although schools have increased both physical and IT security, security breaches have also increased causing an overall decline in schools’ physical and cyber security scores.

On the physical security side, the index found gains in school districts’ use of security cameras with 79% of districts reporting that they leverage cameras vs. 70% in 2008. Additionally, schools significantly increased their use of mass notification systems from 45% in 2008 to 70% of schools implementing them in 2009.

According to Bob Kirby, vice president K-12 education, CDW-G, “Districts reported gains in important areas such as securing buildings and networks, but many are missing the opportunity to counter increased breaches by sharing best practices with other districts and engaging district administrators regularly on security priorities and investments.”

Overall, these results indicate that schools are addressing their security and safety issues more aggressively; however adding technology (e.g. video surveillance, mass notification systems) does not necessarily impact the number of security breaches. Schools must leverage security best practices by training their staffs and augmenting their security processes consistently to reduce security incidents.

CDW-G recommends that districts complete its 2009 School Safety Index Self-Assessment Tool to help them evaluate their security plans and policies and compare their results with the national benchmark. This is a good start, but I also recommend that schools invest their time in conducting a comprehensive security assessment of their campuses on at least a yearly basis to identify more specifically their security problems, so they can create action plans to mitigate their risks and hopefully reduce the number of future security incidents.

How does your school district measure against the national benchmark on security?

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