By Ken Cook
Ken Cook, BSME, MBA, CPD, is Director of National School Safety and Advocacy, Allegion U.S. In addition to leading Allegion’s efforts in assisting school districts, Cook serves on the Advisory Council for the Partner for Safer Schools Alliance (PASS) technical committee and chairs the Outreach Committee, and on the Security Industry Association (SIA) school safety committee.
Classroom doors with proper locking functionality are essential to safer school design. According to the Final Report of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, “There has never been an event in which an active shooter breached a locked classroom door.”
Focusing specifically on the classroom supports multiple safer school design goals. The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) explains that the classroom/interior perimeter is “both the last layer of defense against external threats and, often, the first protection against internal threats to student, staff and visitor safety.”
As a result, specifying the appropriate locking hardware is critical when designing safer, more secure schools and classrooms. Code-compliant locks with visual indication trims can improve the level of security a classroom provides for faculty and students.
Best-practice recommendations for locking hardware
For a classroom lock to be most effective, it is recommended that it meets several performance and functional capabilities. These capabilities can range from complying with fire, life safety and ADA codes requirements to having specific functionality, like the ability to lock from inside the room and be accessible by key or credential from outside the room.
Resources from Allegion have compiled best practices for both classroom locks and general openings from industry experts, school safety alliances and federal commission reports. These resources can help guide security professionals, school administration and design professionals in choosing the right locks to maximize their effectiveness both in the present and in the long-term.
Supporting ongoing and adaptive investments into school safety and security, the Pass K-12 guidelines use a tiered system to help delineate which security measures establish a baseline and which ones move toward the most comprehensive approach to safer school design. For example, locking hardware that locks from inside the room satisfies the first tier for classroom access control. Locks with visual indication trims go a step further to satisfy tier two by allowing staff to check a door’s status, locked or unlocked, with a glance. This helps them to be sure a door is locked without having to approach and test the door during an emergency.
Creating peace of mind with visual indication trims
In addition to physical security, it is important to support the psychological well-being of occupants. Providing peace of mind that all security precautions are in place can support this goal—especially in emergency situations, which can be chaotic and uncertain. Locks with visual indication trims can help reduce that uncertainty, as teachers and students can quickly confirm the status of a door without having to approach the door or test its handle.
Schlage’s visual indication trims feature the large viewing windows and unmistakable red and white messaging. They also offer patented 180-degree visibility. As such, these visual indication trims allow occupants to assess a door’s status from a distance and at nearly every angle. And because these mortise, cylindrical and deadbolt locks provide Grade 1 durability up to the challenges of abusive environments, they support more secure classrooms and more certainty that a lock is engaged.
Providing multiple points of value within a school
In addition to providing peace of mind by displaying a door’s status, locking hardware with visual indication trims can contribute to day-to-day functionality as well. Schlage’s award-winning visual indication trims support privacy in restrooms, study halls, teachers’ lounges and other spaces.
They can also be used in tandem with panic hardware that features visual indication to create a consistent and universal design. Not only does this help improve the safety and security throughout a school, but it also contributes to more intuitive operation for those within the building.
