Official: Lockdown drills appropriate, necessary
“In law enforcement, you respond the way you’re trained — kids will respond the way they are taught. We do these drills so they don’t have to stop and think about what to do if that situation arises.”
– HAMILTON COUNTY SCHOOLS CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER JAMES CORBIN
In the two years since the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, how to best keep students safe remains a topic of discussion — and debate — nationally and here in Hamilton County.
Increasing the number of school resource officers, hiring school security officers and whether or not arming teachers is a good idea have all been topics brought up by the Hamilton County school board during the past year, but one topic that hasn’t been debated is the efficacy of lockdown drills.
Recently, a national advocacy group, Everytown For Gun Safety, alongside the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association — the nation’s largest education unions — called for schools to reassess the use of lockdown drills because of the potentially traumatic effect they can have on students.
“Mental health professionals have begun warning about the effect of these drills on students’ well-being and about the possible short- and long-term consequences on school performance and physical and mental health,” the groups argued in a white paper released on Feb. 11.
The groups say they do not recommend active shooter training for students, and argue if schools do choose to do such drills with students they should be age appropriate, announced ahead of time and not unnecessarily realistic.
But lockdown drills are the “gold standard” of school security preparation, according to a 2018 report from the Tennessee Department of Education.
And 93% of schools across the state complete lockdown drills, with at least 10% incorporating law enforcement into those drills as of the 2018 report.
Hamilton County Schools’ new Chief Security Officer James Corbin said every public school in the county handles drills slightly differently, especially across grade levels.
But he doesn’t think the district’s drills are inappropriate. Hamilton County schools hold lockdown drills that involve preventing students from leaving the room or area they are in, effectively “locking” them “down” in place. Every school holds a drill at least twice a year, but the tone varies from elementary to middle to high schools.
The district has not held tactical awareness drills that might involve a fake suspect or gunman, firing rubber bullets or pellets at teachers or other simulations of a real threat, Corbin said.
“We don’t do that, and we’re not going to do that with kids,” he said. “When the adults are there and there aren’t children in the building, that might be something we consider.”
But Corbin said safety drills of all kinds — including lockdown, fire and evacuation drills — are an important piece of all schools’ safety preparedness.
“The worst things we have to deal with are apathy and denial. Apathy is the thought that ‘I’m safe’ and denial is thinking ‘it can’t happen here.’ It hasn’t, and I pray it never does, but it could,” Corbin said. “In law enforcement, you respond the way you’re trained — kids will respond the way they are taught. We do these drills so they don’t have to stop and think about what to do if that situation arises.”
Still, Everytown and the teacher unions argue students and parents should have advance notice of drills, even just lockdown drills, and schools should create age and developmentally appropriate content with the involvement of school-based mental health professionals.
The groups also argue that schools should track data about the efficacy and effects of drills, since little national research is available to prove whether or not they are effective.
The National Association of School Resource Officers also argues that drills should be created in collaboration with school psychologists, but maintains that “necessary preparedness for violent attacks on school campuses should include carefully-planned and executed drills or exercises that follow specific guidelines to limit adverse effects,” according to a news release.
“Our joint guidance points out that regular practice helps participants develop readiness and quickly access and apply knowledge,” association
Executive Director Mo Canady in a statement. “It also makes clear that such practice must be appropriate to individual development levels and take into consideration prior traumatic experiences, special needs, and personalities.”
Corbin noted that one of the pieces of the Parkland tragedy was that the school had not conducted a lockdown drill in years, leaving teachers panicked and students locked out of rooms or safe places to hide.
Hamilton County’s drills are just one piece of the school safety puzzle and one part of each school’s safety plan. Every school has a team that includes administrators, the school resource officer if the school has one, teachers, counselors, social workers and other staff developing safety plans for not just active shooter emergencies, but weather or health-related emergencies and other potential safety concerns that can arise.
“Education is the biggest tool,” Corbin said. “We need to talk to the parents, the teachers, the kids — We need to make sure that the community buys into the school safety plans as well.”
He also emphasized the work that school resource officers do when building relationships with students and encouraging them to “see something, say something,” or let adults know when there is a concern.
Most safety concerns aren’t new or haven’t increased, he said. But schools must stay vigilant. Safety isn’t something to only be thought about a few times a year or on the anniversary of a tragedy, Corbin added.
“We need to think about it the other 364 days of the year. We can do everything in the world to protect them. Life doesn’t always happen as planned,” he said.