Improving Security
Card-based ID systems help schools be more efficient
- By Brett St. Pierre
- Nov 03, 2014
The nation’s K-12 school districts
are under pressure to
upgrade their aging facility
infrastructure. An independent,
nationwide survey in
October 2013 sponsored by
United Technologies Corp. and
the U.S. Green Building Council’s
Center for Green Schools
revealed that nine out of 10
Americans believe it’s time for
the nation to invest in transforming
aging school facilities
into 21st century learning
environments. According to
the Center, it will cost $271
billion to bring school buildings
up to working order and
comply with laws, and if additional
steps are taken to
ensure schools meet today’s
education, safety and health
standards, this figure grows
to $542 billion.
Security is a key component of this upgrade
challenge, especially in the wake of tragedies
like the Newtown massacre. While districts
already have access to both federal- and statelevel
funding for general modernization projects,
the Newtown tragedy was followed by
the introduction of more than 450 new bills
related to school safety. While there is no
assurance that these bills will all pass or result
in funding, they are indicators of the countrywide
focus on school security. As the Department
of Homeland Security wrote in its
“Primer to Design Safe School Projects in
Case of Terrorist Attacks and School Shootings,”
today’s schools “serve large populations
and also serve as resources for their communities.”
The report pointed out that many
schools are used as shelters, command centers
or meeting places in times of crisis, and also
are used widely for polling and voting functions.
Security is a critical design consideration
for these facilities that should be continually
reviewed and scrutinized from the
design phase through construction or rehabilitee
and into building use.
It can be difficult to ensure school security,
especially in districts with dozens of school
buildings and other centers housing tens of
thousands of students. The answer is a universal,
mandatory system for creating and
managing student IDs. According to the DHS
Primer, optimal security requires that there
should be no entry into the school allowed
without supervising staff or appropriate
access control devices. The Primer also suggested
that card access systems greatly simplify
access control and eliminate problems
associated with lost keys.
Moving to a card-based student ID system
offers many benefits for K-12 school districts
that are seeking to modernize their facilities.
Not only do the ID cards improve campus
safety, they also streamline processes such as
managing time and attendance functions, and
they offer new ways to make old tasks more
efficient, such as checking out books at the
media center or tracking student purchases in
the cafeteria.
Thanks to advances in printers, card materials
and software, districts can now quickly
and easily deploy card issuance solutions that
are fast and efficient, support their volume
issuance requirements at the beginning of
each school year, and also enable them to
instantly create and issue new badges when a
student loses his or her badge, or is newly
enrolled in school. Today’s solutions also
optimize card security by including visual
and logical technologies for multi-layered validation. By following a number of industry best practices, district
administrators can ensure the most secure deployment possible while
paving the way for a variety of time- and resource-saving applications
for their cards.
Laying the Foundation
The first step is to choose a printer/encoder solution, which can range
from a monochrome direct-to-card (DTC) solution that combines
quality, reliability and ease of use, to high definition printing (HDP)
retransfer technology for contactless or contact smart cards. For districts
that need high-throughput solutions, there are a number of additional
choices that optimize performance and productivity.
Regardless of the printer/encoder choice, the solution should have
an intuitive set up and easy to use. It should not require a large capital
investment, or any extensive training for system operators. Ideally, the
printer/encoder should be compact, since space is at a premium at
most school campuses. It should also be field-upgradable, so that the
district can modify its printers to fit new requirements as student ID
system needs change and evolve. Finally, the printer/encoder’s card
personalization software should make it easy for the district to design
card templates, enter student data, create photo ID badges, and synchronize
badge data with third-party database applications, such as
student attendance and school records systems.
With an issuance solution in place, the next step is to set up the
badging process. To ensure more trustworthy authentication and make
it easier for school personnel to identify individuals, ID cards should
feature visual elements, such as the district’s logo and mission statement,
a large photo of the student and his or her name printed on the
front of the card.
The typical large school district might need to print as many as
15,000 customized student ID cards during the first week of school,
with uniform image quality, design and durability. Speed and efficiency
are critical. Administrators can speed the badging process by preprinting
static elements on the ID cards, such as the district logo and
mission statement.
For schools that want to use their badges for tracking attendance
and tardy arrivals, the ID card can include a barcode that is used in
conjunction with a student management system. When a student
arrives late to school, or is tardy to a class, the card is scanned into the
system, and a tardy pass is printed automatically. Using an ID card
system rather than manual processes can significantly cut the time
required to process students, enabling them to spend more time in
class while also reducing the staff’s administrative burden.
Managing Visitors
K-12 campuses may want to consider badging more than just staff and
students for on-campus identification—visitors are important to monitor
and manage. While some school districts believe that a paperbased
badge and visitor log is all they need, this approach leaves them
vulnerable to many security risks. It also eliminates any opportunities
to analyze visitor trends and patterns, or to quickly flag visitors who
are either not allowed on campus, or who need to be handled differently
than typical campus guests. One of the worst problems with
manual visitor check-in process is that, if there is a fire or other emergency,
the paper-based badge and visitor logs are generally inadequate
for quickly determining who is still in the building and needs to be
found and evacuated.
Implemented on a PC at the lobby reception desk or another entry
point, visitor management systems are easy to use, and training can be
completed in no more than an hour. The systems automate the entire
visitor registration process, including gathering information from the
visitor such as a driver’s license or other government ID, screening the
visitor against any internal and/or external watch lists, and creating a
badge for the visitor to wear on campus.
Some school districts use their visitor management systems to issue
a warning alert to the lobby attendant, within seconds, if a visitor who
is checking in is listed as a registered sex offender. Additionally, an
automatic e-mail alert can also be sent to other school administrators,
and/or to security personnel. Besides sex offenders, the visitor management
system can also flag other individuals or organizations that
schools have pre-determined should not enter the building. The results
of this screening process can be displayed in just two seconds if there
is a match. The combination of sex offender database screening and
other flagging mechanisms makes it easier for schools to ensure that
proper controls are in place to monitor all visitors and protect those
who are on the campus.
Districts can also use visitor management systems to manage the
identification of parents or custodians who are authorized to drop off
and pick up children from campus. As an option, the school can print
and issue permanent barcoded ID cards for parents and caretakers,
rather than temporary visitor badges. This can further expedite the
student drop-off and pick-up process.
Other Badge Uses
Districts can maximize the investment in their ID cards by using them
in multiple ways. For instance, besides simply identifying students, staff
and visitors, ID cards can also be used by students at the media center
for checking out books, or in the cafeteria to track lunch purchases on
campus meal plans. Many elementary schools are also exploring how to
use the ID cards in reward programs that are designed to encourage
good student behavior through positive reinforcement.
Another way to derive additional value out of ID cards is to use
them for monitoring field trip attendance. The cards also can be used
in fund raising initiatives that involve monitoring purchases at participating
stores and restaurants, a portion of which are donated to the
schools. Additional applications include controlling access to school
sporting and entertainment events, and monitoring students who are
allowed to leave the campus during school hours, such as high school
seniors with lunch privileges.
Today’s ID card systems significantly increase security for a
school’s students, staff, parents and visitors. School districts have a
wide range of printer/encoder solutions from which to choose,
depending on their size and card issuance needs. Whatever solution
is selected should be easy to install and use, with minimal training
required, and the software should facilitate badge data synchronization
with third-party applications, such as student attendance and
school records systems. Visitor monitoring and management should
also be part of the ID card solution, to ensure that all guests are
authorized to be on campus and officially checked in. Once the ID
badging solution is in place, administrators should look for additional
ways to maximize the value of their investment,
by using the badges for other applications
such as time and attendance monitoring, and
managing library check-out processes and cafeteria
meal plan purchases.
This article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of Security Today.