July 2007 — News
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Research: Benchmarks for School Safety
In terms of techniques used by IT departments to protect data, 33 percent use filtering software; 18 percent monitor Internet activity; 15 percent require adult supervision; 8 percent educate students on the use of the Internet; and 4 percent require students to sign an acceptable use policy.
As far as incidents go, 9 percent of districts overall reported a breach of data security within the last year, with the fewest in rural areas (7 percent) and the highest in urban areas (17 percent). Sixteen percent of districts with enrollment of 5,000 students or more reported at least one data breach in the last 12 months, double the figures for districts with 1 to 999 students and districts with 1,000 to 4,999.
More than half of those participating in the survey cited budgetary constraints as a barrier to improving district data security.
Physical Security & Safety
On the physical side of security, public school districts came in much lower on the scale. For the physical index, there are 160 points total, and the national average was 44. The top 16 questions, delineated by the black arrow, are worth 10 points each for an answer of yes. The last six questions, delineated by the red down arrow, are worth -10 points each for an answer of yes. Again, answers of "no" are worth zero points.
And, again, a blank chart is available on CDW-G's School Safety Index site for district IT staffers to fill out for themselves for comparison with the national responses. (See link at the end of this article.)
Breaking down these figures, 29 percent said their districts use security cameras; 16 percent restrict entry to campuses in some way; and 11 percent use access cards.
In terms of emergency preparedness, only 35 percent of districts reported being connected to local agencies with real-time communications tools. (The high was urban areas with 67 percent; the low was rural areas with 30 percent.)
For communications with parents during emergencies, only 1 percent of districts overall reported having an emergency alert system in place--systems that send e-mail and text messages to selected groups. For weather-related communications, most use the phone (63 percent); 19 percent use e-mail; 24 percent rely on radio or television; and 6 percent use websites. For communication with parents during a school emergency, 54 percent use the phone; 15 percent use e-mail; 12 percent rely on radio or television; and 3 percent use text messaging.
Overall, 21 percent of districts reported experiencing a breach in physical security, with a high in urban areas of 50 percent.
