The Door Security and Safety Foundation (DSSF), in collaboration with Door and Hardware Institute (DHI), recently released of “Are Your Door Openings Secure?.”
The document provides guidelines to equip school administrators, building management personnel, and community leaders with a clear roadmap to create a secure and safe environment. There is currently no national door security standard for community spaces such as schools, day care facilities, and office buildings. The lack of understanding and implementation of secure openings puts communities at risk and can lead to fear, according to a news release.
A 2022 Gallup poll found that 44% of parents of K-12 students report fearing for their child’s physical safety at school. Creating a secure space doesn’t need to be complicated, though.
A 2020 simulation experiment by the Department of Homeland Security showed that classroom doors that lock when closed had a “significant impact” on the outcome of an active school shooter event. But one in four U.S. public schools lack classroom doors that can be locked from the inside, according to the National Center on Education Statistics.
Related Stories
Education Facilities | Mar 3, 2020
Carisima Koenig, AIA, joins Perkins Eastman as Associate Higher Education Practice Leader
Perkins Eastman as Associate Higher Education Practice Leader
Multifamily Housing | Feb 26, 2020
School districts in California are stepping in to provide affordable housing for faculty and staff
One high school district in Daly City has broken ground on 122-apartment building.
Architects | Feb 24, 2020
Design for educational equity
Can architecture not only shape lives, but contribute to a more equitable and just society for marginalized people?
Giants 400 | Sep 4, 2019
Top 90 K-12 School Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Turner, CORE Construction, and Skanska lead the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 3, 2019
Top 140 K-12 School Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
DLR Group, PBK, Huckabee, Stantec, and VLK Architects top the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2019
2019 K-12 School Giants Report: 360-degree learning among top school design trends for 2019
K-12 school districts are emphasizing practical, hands-on experience and personalized learning.
Energy Efficiency | Aug 8, 2019
Florida’s first net-zero K-12 school opens
The building is distinguished by its rooftop solar array and its air-tight envelope.
K-12 Schools | Jul 15, 2019
Summer assignments: 2019 K-12 school construction costs
Using RSMeans data from Gordian, here are the most recent costs per square foot for K-12 school buildings in 10 cities across the U.S.
K-12 Schools | Jul 8, 2019
Collaborative for High Performance Schools releases 2019 Core Criteria Version 3.0 Update
The update adds credits to lower carbon footprints and to promote climate change resiliency.
Building Tech | Jun 26, 2019
Modular construction can deliver projects 50% faster
Modular construction can deliver projects 20% to 50% faster than traditional methods and drastically reshape how buildings are delivered, according to a new report from McKinsey & Co.
