Derby’s Board of Education continued its efforts to ramp up school security in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by adopting a policy last week requiring all school staff members to wear photo ID badges on school grounds.
Staff members are already wearing the badges, but the policy gained formal approval Thursday (April 25).
Members of a board subcommittee going over security measures at schools are also discussing the possibility of students wearing ID badges as well, according to George Kurtyka, the subcommittee’s chairman.
Kurtyka updated the board on school security issues during the school board’s meeting Thursday, and the identification badges were at the top of the list.
Officials want to see people wear the badges “so we know who’s who,” Kurtyka told the board.
The subcommittee has been discussing the ID badge issue for the past two or three months, he said
“We’re here for the protection of the students and staff,” Kurtyka said.
Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway wanted to know “how can we identify who’s in the school,” said Kurtyka, a retired detective who served for the 30 years in the Derby Police Department.
The comprehensive policy includes information on how to wear the badges, what happens when someone loses a badge, how to confront a staff member who’s not wearing one, and the use of temporary badges for substitute teachers, visitors and others.
The Newtown school shootings spurred on security measures in Derby, he said, and all school buildings are now equipped with lock systems, cameras and buzzers.
Even school board members don’t have free access to the schools, he said, and have to follow security measures, including using the buzzer to enter.
The security improvements stemmed in large part from recommendations of state officials who walked through the school buildings and presented their ideas on how to make them safer.