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Survey reveals 2/3 of responding Connecticut schools have security officers, but most are not armed

One Connecticut school board recently made a majority vote to arm their school security officers.

HARTFORD, Conn. — After the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, some districts are adding armed officers to their schools. In Connecticut, the most recent district to make that change is Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.

The school board made a majority vote to arm their school security officers on Wednesday night.

"We believe that this will allow us to stop a potential shooter before they cause significant harm," said Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools.

The changes are prompting some to ask the question, is this unusual for Connecticut? The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents answered that question in a survey they conducted last month.

"Superintendents, after the horrible incident in Texas, wanted again to review their safety plans and to ensure that they were doing what others are doing in terms of safety precautions," said Fran Rabinowitz, Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS).

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Out of 165 members, 92 school districts responded to the survey.

Around two-thirds, 66%, said they have school security or school resource officers, mainly in their high schools. However, only about 11% said those officers or security guards are armed.

Still, there are other safety measures in place.

"Connecticut has been a leader in school safety and in funding. The state has provided funding every year to upgrade school security," Rabinowitz said.

Rabinowitz said that security spans far beyond the school hallways, especially when it comes to relationships with local police. 

"I was an educator, I was not an expert in security and how to secure a building. And the police department was," Rabinowitz said. 

Those relationships are getting a second look across the country right now. School safety expert, Ken Trump, said it's all about training and preparedness.

"The first and best line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body...the number one way we know about weapons, plots, and individuals who are going to cause self-harm," Trump said. "When people come forward and tell somebody, an adult that they trust, and then those adults know what to do with that information."

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Next up in that line of defense, is the police. Trump said those connections should be strong and made before tragedy strikes.

"Schools can make it harder for the bad guy to get in, by locking their doors, putting in electronic access control, but they can also give key cards and fobs and keys to the police ahead of time so that they can get in when the school is locked down," Trump said. "Provide floor plans and blueprints in advance, so they know the layout. And even some schools, they're giving remote camera access so the police can get real-time intelligence." 

Specifically, in the Uvalde shooting, Trump said there were two key issues: hardware and access to the building, and the police response.

"More than two decades ago, in Columbine, police tactical procedures pivoted to setting up a perimeter and calling for SWAT to now, the first officer on scene going in," Trump said. 

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But, the police officers need to be prepared to do that. Trump said the smallest of departments should be working with local districts right now to make sure they're ready for that, in case of an emergency.

"They need to make sure that they have the basic training, planning, preparation of their partners and that they have the basic tools to breach a door, to go in on some type of tactical maneuver," Trump said.

Rabinowitz said most school districts in Connecticut already have that strong relationship with police.

"I would say in most schools, school security obviously exists. And, I think judging from what I have seen, most, or two-thirds of the schools do have school resource officers. Which indicates a relationship with the police department," Rabinowitz said.

Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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