Message in Response to 9/4/24 Georgia School Shooting

 

School safety and security is always paramount in Central Bucks. On August 30, 2024, the district shared information about our implementation of the Standard Response Protocol beginning the 2024-2025 school year. The terrible tragedy that occurred at a Georgia high school on Sept. 4 underscores our mandate to continually enhance our safety procedures whenever possible, and for all of us throughout Bucks County and beyond to remain ever focused on the security of all our students, teachers, staff members and school visitors.

In light of this tragedy, the district wishes to remind the CB community of the safety and security measures in the district. 

  • CBSD security personnel cover all 23 schools at varying times. School resource officers (SROs) from local law enforcement agencies are assigned to our three high schools and make randomly scheduled visits to our other schools. You can learn more about the role of CBSD SROs in this video.  

  • All external doors at all our buildings are locked during the school day. Visitors must be “buzzed” into every one of our facilities, check in at the main office, and receive a visitor's badge. Before they are admitted beyond the main office, all visitors are also screened through the Raptor Visitor Management System, which scans a person’s ID against the national and state sex offender registries. 

  • All school district buildings are equipped with exterior security cameras around each building's perimeter and interior security cameras in strategic locations.  

  • District staff are required to always wear identification badges while in school buildings. 

  • A district-level Security Advisory Committee includes district staff from a variety of backgrounds and meets regularly to review policies, procedures, and specific concerns related to district and school safety and security issues.  

  • The district regularly reviews and updates security enhancements, procedures, and processes. 

  • While it is not possible to practice every emergency situation that may occur, school emergency response teams simulate several different scenarios throughout the year. The safety teams use these experiences to review their procedures and refine their responses to meet the unique circumstances of their building and student population.   

  • CBSD has an emergency operations plan which guides the district’s response to critical incidents. For security reasons, the district does not share the plan in full. 

Please know that CBSD prioritizes the safety of everyone in our school community and strives to ensure our district is a safe place to learn, work and play. The vigilance and partnership of all district families are critical to our efforts.

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