Additional Resources for Areas Studied and Definitions of Terms
All Member Consensus Meetings: Arming School Personnel
Decision Making
Cost & Liability
Armed Personnel, Checks, Training
Storage
Perceptions of Safety
Armed School Personnel Study Vocabulary List
Armed
Being furnished with weapons; furnished with something that provides security, strength and efficacy; using or involving a weapon.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/armed
Armed School Personnel
A person employed by the school district who is chosen and thereby authorized to carry and/or have access to a gun on school property during school hours.
Active Shooter
An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area. These assailants use firearms, as opposed to knives or other weapons.
https://www2.ed.gov/documents/school-safety/school-safety-report.pdf
Active Shooter Drills
A drill to prevent, mitigate and respond to and recover from a violent critical incident. This can include lockdown drills and specific responses to active shooters such as ALICE or Run, Hide and Fight programs.
https://www.alicetraining.com/our-program/
Association for Learning Environments
First established in 1921 as National Council on Schoolhouse Construction, The Association for Learning Environments is a professional 501 (c)(3) non-profit association whose sole mission is improving the places where children learn.
https://www.a4le.org/A4LE/About/A4LE/About/About.aspx?hkey=bf423156-9ae2-4084-a56d-fd29d94a3cee
Biometric Lock Box
The Portable Biometric Lock Box features a quick-access biometric fingerprint scanning sensor, which ensures that only the users who have registered their fingerprints into the lock box may access its contents. The Portable Lock Box can also be accessed with traditional back-up keys.
Concealed Carry Permit (CCP) or Concealed Handgun License (CHL)
Concealed Weapon: n. a weapon, particularly a handgun, which is kept hidden on one's person, or under one's control (in a glove compartment or under a car seat). Carrying a concealed weapon is a crime in most states unless the party with the weapon is a law enforcement officer or has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. A permit is usually issued by local law enforcement under guidelines of need-such as being a carrier of large amounts of cash in business-and having a record free of convictions, arrests or improper activity. https://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=268
CCP/CHL Cont.
In Ohio, this refers to an Ohio license to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 2923.125.
Decision Making Power
The act or process of deciding something especially with a group of people
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decision-making
Federal Law
Federal laws are bills that have passed both houses of Congress, been signed by the president, passed over the president's veto, or allowed to become law without the president's signature. Individual laws, also called acts, are arranged by subject in the United States Code. Regulations are rules made by executive departments and agencies, and are arranged by subject in the Code of Federal Regulations.
https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Laws_and_Regulations_vrd.htm
Federal Gun Law on School Property
The Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm that has moved in or otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. The GFSZA defines “school zone” as: 1) In, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school that provides elementary or secondary education. 2) Within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school that provides elementary or secondary education. However, the federal prohibition against possessing a gun in a school zone does not apply to people licensed by a state or locality to possess a gun. This exception covers many people licensed to possess firearms or to carry concealed firearms. In addition, the federal GFSZA allows firearm possession in school zones if: The firearm is unloaded and “in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle; or The firearm is possessed for use in a program approved by a school, or in accordance with a contract entered into between a school and the individual or an employer of the individual.
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-public/guns-in-schools/#federal
Firearm Training
Training that familiarizes trainees with general safety procedures along with marksmanship principles associated with handling of weapons and training in practical situations and to apply the procedures and principles. (See CCP/CHL)
Gun Free School Zones Act
The Gun-Free School Zones Act is an act of the U.S. Congress in 1990 prohibiting any unauthorized individual from knowingly possessing a loaded or unsecured firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/senate-bill/2070
Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions
Liable
Any legal responsibility, duty or obligation. The state of one who is bound in law and justice to do something which may be enforced by action. This liability may arise from contracts either express or implied or in consequence of torts committed.
https://www.lectlaw.com/def/l031.htm
Loophole
An ambiguity or omission in the text through which the intent of a statute, contract, or obligation may be evaded.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loophole
Measures to Create Safer, More Inviting Schools
Curative measures refer to those design features in a school facility that promote mental health and wellbeing, which in turn help minimize the instances of man-made threats. Countermeasures are divided into five sections: Detection, Monitoring, Prevention, Mitigation and Response.
https://schoolsafety.a4le.org/school-facilities/
Mental Health Resources
Resources that include both mental health prevention and mental health services. Mental Health Prevention is designed to reduce the incidence, prevalence and recurrence of mental health disorders. Mental Health Services include assessment, diagnosis, treatment or counseling in a professional relationship to assist an individual or group in alleviating mental or emotional illness, symptoms, conditions or disorders.
https://www.bcm.edu/pdf/e_mentalhealth_release9.12.05.pdf
Ohio State Law
State law is the body of law in a particular state. It consists of the state’s constitution, statutes, regulations and common law. In the United States each state has separate state laws passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the state Governor. The state law exists parallel to the federal law. In case of conflict between state law and federal laws, federal law prevails according to Article IV, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. However there are uniform laws adopted by individual states in order to make the laws on various subjects’ uniform among the states.
https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/state-law/
Ohio Gun Law on School Property
Ohio prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm in a “school safety zone.” A “school safety zone” consists of any school, school building, school premises, school activity or school bus.
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/guns-in-schools-in-ohio/
Preparedness Training
ALICE - stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. A training program started in 2000 by a law enforcement officer and his wife, a school principal. https://www.alicetraining.com/about-us/
FASTER - stands for Faculty / Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response. Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training. https://fastersaveslives.org
PPRR - Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recover. The Ohio School Boards Association core components of schools safety and security.
https://www.ohioschoolboards.org/sites/default/files/ProtectingOhioSchoolchildren.pdf
Public Policy
A course of action taken by a government to address a public issue. Public policy is created in the interest of a larger group of people and is the outcome of government processes that include the enactment of laws and regulations, and the allocation of resources. Some of the issues that are addressed by public policy include health, education, social welfare, crime, transportation and international relations.
https://publicpolicyonline.com/
Safety
The condition of not being in danger or of not being dangerous.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/safety
School Building Design
The design of the school facility and campus can and should be used to provide for the safety of students and school personnel. According to the Association for Learning Environments, the four main strategies are natural surveillance, territorial reinforcement, natural access control, and maintenance
https://schoolsafety.a4le.org/school-facilities/
School Personnel
School personnel means persons employed by or on contract with the school district including administrators, educators and all support staff. Volunteers are not included in this definition of School Personnel.
School Resource Officer (SRO)
The United States Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services defines School Resource Officers (SRO) as “sworn law enforcement officers responsible for safety and crime prevention in schools.”SROs are typically employed by a local police or sheriff's agency and work closely with administrators in an effort to create a safer environment for both students and staff. The responsibilities of SROs are similar to regular police officers in that they have the ability to make arrests, respond to calls for service, and document incidents.
https://cops.usdoj.gov/supportingsafeschools
Self-Identified Volunteer
A person employed by the school district who willingly and knowingly agrees to utilize a gun for the purpose of being a line of defense in the event of an active shooter.
Smart Gun
Also known as “personalized” firearms, are intended to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing and using firearms. There are two kinds of existing technologies capable of reliably identifying authorized users: 1) Radio frequency identification (RFID) tokens activate a firearm when they are in close proximity to it. These tokens can be integrated into bracelets, watches, rings, or other wearable devices. 2) Biometric recognition technology activates a firearm after identifying biological features like a fingerprint, palm print, or grip.
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/smart-guns/
Student of Color
The term "person of color" is today primarily used in the United States to describe any person who is not considered white, including at various points in US history, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans and others. The term emphasizes common experiences of systemic racism.
Threat Assessment
A process of identifying students of concern, assess their risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities, and identify intervention strategies to manage that risk.
https://schoolsafety.a4le.org/school-facilities/
Threat Assessment Team
A multidisciplinary team (individuals who will direct, manage, and document the threat assessment process. The Team will receive reports that identify concerning students and situations, gather additional information, assess the risk posed to the school community, and develop intervention and management strategies to mitigate any risk of harm.
Transparency
The capacity of outsiders to obtain valid and timely information about the activities of government or private institutions.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/transparency-government
Violence Prevention
An approach to violence prevention which builds on a combination of community and systemic action.