Broward schools chief touts safety improvements: ‘We’re smarter and more efficient’
Broward is now an A-rated school district for academics, but it also deserves high marks for safety and security, Superintendent Howard Hepburn told a commission formed in the wake of the Parkland tragedy.
Hepburn, who took over as superintendent in April, spoke of new security enhancements such as metal detectors and drones during an appearance Wednesday before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission. He also said the district secured a $3 million state grant for safety training.
“Today we’re smarter and more efficient and work closer with law enforcement. We remain deeply committed to creating a safer and more secure learning environment,” Hepburn told the commission. “We embody the core belief that everyone plays a role in keeping schools safe.”
He said he is now confident that Broward “is one of the safest school districts in the nation, if not the safest.”
The state Legislature created the safety commission shortly after the Feb. 14, 2018, tragedy at Stoneman Douglas, which left 17 people dead, including family members of the commission and the Broward School Board. Hepburn’s appearance came on the second day of a two-day meeting at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.
A few years ago, the commission provided harsh criticism of the school district’s safety efforts, frequently telling former Superintendent Robert Runcie that the district showed no sense of urgency. But members praised Hepburn’s early efforts.
“What I see is a culture shift in Broward schools, and that’s welcome news,” said Ryan Petty, a commissioner whose daughter Alaina was killed at Stoneman Douglas.
Hepburn addressed a number of topics during his 15-minute presentation.
Behavioral threat assessments
The commission has criticized the district in the past for poor training and implementation of behavioral threat assessments, which are designed to assist students who may be a danger to themselves or others. Even after the district made changes to software in 2021, an audit found the district was still doing a poor job.
But the district has now built a “powerful behavioral threat assessment department” that works with district-run and charter schools “to train administrators and staff in school safety and supports behavioral assessments that help identify issues and concerns related to student actions.”
“We go far beyond minimal safety training and require all school administrators, school resource officers, school social workers and psychologists to complete extensive training on safety and security best practices,” Hepburn said.
He said nearly 4,000 threat assessments were completed last year for at-risk students.
Alyssa’s Law
The district is taking steps to improve its implementation of Alyssa’s Law, which requires districts to have mobile panic buttons.
The law is named after Broward School Board Chairwoman Lori Alhadeff’s daughter, Alyssa Alhadeff, who was killed in the tragedy. The district uses an app from SaferWatch, a local company, which has been installed on all district-issued cellphones. The app uses GPS technology to identify the precise location of an emergency and allows users to type in more details.
The district has struggled to get teachers and other school staff to install it on their personal phones, due to fears that the device may be tracking their whereabouts. The district has now installed the software on all district-issued devices besides cellphones, including laptop and desktop computers, Hepburn said. He said the district is also in discussions with SaferWatch about piloting a device that school staff can wear around their necks and press in an emergency in lieu of a cellphone or computer.
Metal detectors
The district has expanded a random metal detection program to more classrooms and schools every day of the week. The program started in 2022. Law enforcement enter classrooms without notice to screen students’ bags for weapons.
“The program is helping to curtail the number of weapons brought to school,” Hepburn said. “Although we screened 11% more students in the 23-24 school year, the number of weapons discovered during these random screenings declined nearly 21% over the previous period.”
These will remain as the district installs new walk-through metal detectors in all high schools during the new school year, he said. The new metal detector initiative was piloted at two schools this summer.
Hepburn said entrances to high schools have been consolidated “to ensure students are carefully screened for weapons. School staff will work with the district’s security to make this a seamless and efficient process.”
Fencing
The district has been replacing and adding more fencing around its campuses and now includes all visitor parking areas, Hepburn said.
“This helps to ensure safety, and security staff engage with visitors before they actually arrive at a single point of entry at the school,” Hepburn said. “It’s an additional layer of security that did not previously exist.”
He said last year 28 fence projects totaling $1.9 million were completed.
Intercoms
The district has assessed intercom equipment at its 220 schools and identified 87 priority sites for upgrades, Hepburn said.
The district plans to select vendors for upgrades to help the district provide “stronger, more responsive procedures to help school staff act more quickly and efficiently.”
A recent audit found the district had botched the rollout of an intercom system in 2019, with 60% of schools not having the emergency features that were expected.
The district says all schools have functioning intercom systems. But an expected upgrade where the intercoms could override fire alarms didn’t happen, the audit found. Lives were lost at Stoneman Douglas after the residue from the gun triggered the fire alarm, causing students to evacuate.
“There were some issues that happened in the past where the intercom process wasn’t totally followed,” Hepburn told reporters after his comments. “Our team has gone through all of that, and we have a good plan to move forward to ensure that all of our intercom systems are upgraded appropriately.”
Promise Program
The commission recommended in 2019 that the district scrap its Promise program, an alternative-to-arrest program for students who have committed certain misdemeanor offenses. Commission members argued it allowed students to commit crimes without being tracked by other law enforcement agencies.
That finally happened last fall.
“I’m pleased to inform the commission that the district’s Promise program is no longer in existence,” Hepburn said during his comments.
He said crimes are referred to law enforcement but the district “works on the back end to support unmet social and emotional needs.”
Drone program
The district has established a new drone program with the Federal Aviation Administration for campus surveillance. The drones will monitor large-scale events on campus, such as sporting events and evacuations.
“It provides a quick and clear visual recap of situations unfolding on the ground,” he said.