School Security Requires a Sustained Commitment
GSX 2026 Series
On October 15, three children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Two other people were wounded. Behind those facts are families facing devastating loss, survivors beginning a difficult recovery, and a school community whose daily life has been profoundly changed. ABC News
As the investigation continues, security professionals should resist drawing conclusions about what the school should have done or claiming that a particular product would have prevented the attack. The information available does not support that judgment.
The tragedy, however, renews the urgency of a discussion at GSX 2026: how schools can turn established security guidance into consistent, practical action.
In the session Strengthening K–12 School Security through Standards, Guidelines, and Collaboration, Drew Neckar and Chuck Wilson addressed a problem many school leaders recognize. Schools face competing recommendations, limited resources, and pressure to act. Deciding where to begin can be difficult.
Their message was clear: start by understanding the school’s risks, establish responsibility for managing them, and build a security program that people can sustain.
Begin with the school’s actual needs
A security purchase is a decision within a program. It cannot define the entire program.
During the session, Neckar emphasized the importance of assessing each school’s circumstances before selecting protective measures. Campus layout, staffing, student needs, community relationships, and existing procedures all influence what will work.
That approach changes the conversation with school boards and administrators. Before considering equipment, leaders should be able to explain which risk they are addressing, how the proposed measure will reduce it, and who will operate and maintain it.
It also makes limited funding easier to prioritize. An assessment can help distinguish an urgent operational weakness from an improvement that can be scheduled over several budget cycles.
Following a tragedy, the pressure to make an immediate, visible investment is understandable. A disciplined assessment gives that urgency direction.
Use established guidance together
The GSX discussion brought together three resources: the ASIS School Security Standard, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools guidelines, and CISA’s K–12 school security guidance.
Each offers a useful perspective. The ASIS standard provides a framework for organizing a school security program, connecting physical protection with behavioral threat assessment and management and emergency planning. PASS offers practical recommendations and a checklist to help schools assess protective measures and prioritize improvements. CISA’s guide and assessment tool support a systems approach to evaluating vulnerabilities and planning layered protection. ASIS, PASS, CISA
Neckar and Wilson described coordination among the organizations developing these resources. That matters to school leaders who need compatible advice they can translate into everyday decisions.
The practical opportunity is to use these resources as a shared foundation for discussion among administrators, educators, facilities teams, security professionals, and emergency responders.
Make responsibility explicit
One of the session’s strongest points was its focus on governance.
Someone must have the authority, knowledge, and support to coordinate the security program. Assigning responsibility also means giving people the time, training, and access to the budgets and operations they control.
Policies need owners. Equipment needs maintenance. Training needs a schedule. Identified weaknesses need a person responsible for resolving them.
These responsibilities can become fragmented across departments. A facilities team may manage doors, an IT team may support cameras, and administrators may oversee emergency procedures. Leadership must ensure that those activities work together.
For school boards, a useful question is whether the district can demonstrate coordination through current assessments, documented priorities, and follow-up on corrective actions.
Connect physical protection with prevention
The session also emphasized behavioral threat assessment and management as part of a comprehensive program.
Schools need ways for students, staff, and families to raise concerns, along with a coordinated process to evaluate and respond to them. The purpose is to understand concerning behavior, provide appropriate support, and manage potential threats.
Physical protection addresses another part of the challenge. Entry procedures, classroom security, communications, and staff actions must function together under everyday conditions and during emergencies.
Wilson stressed that technology depends on policies, procedures, and training. That observation deserves attention whenever a school considers a new system. Leaders should understand who receives an alert, what action follows, and how the process will be tested.
These are broader planning principles. They should not be presented as findings about Bend's circumstances.
Fund the work beyond installation
A sustainable security program requires continuing investment.
During the discussion, Wilson highlighted the importance of considering maintenance, licensing, and ongoing services when planning school construction and security improvements. Neckar likewise emphasized continuous assessment and improvement.
For districts, this means budgeting for a protective measure's useful life. Staff turnover, building changes, software updates, and equipment failures can affect a system long after installation.
Exercises and routine reviews should produce corrective actions with clear responsibility and realistic deadlines. School communities also need thoughtful planning for family communication, reunification, and recovery.
Carry the GSX discussion into practice
The connection between the GSX session and the shooting in Bend is a responsibility to act carefully, using established guidance while allowing investigators to establish the facts.
A constructive next step for school leaders is to convene the people responsible for safety, review the current assessment, and agree on the most pressing unresolved priorities. Each priority should have an owner, a funding plan, and a way to verify completion.
For security professionals, the task is to make that work understandable and achievable for educators. Recommendations should reflect the realities of a school day and the resources needed to sustain them.
The families and community in Bend deserve compassion, support, and space to grieve. Across the profession, the lasting response must include sustained attention to the work discussed at GSX: understanding risk, coordinating responsibility, and following through on improvements that help protect children and the people who teach them.