District Safety and Security Measures
The safety and well-being of students and employees are top priorities in Lexington Two. The district – which includes the municipalities of Cayce, West Columbia, Pine Ridge, Springdale, and South Congaree, all in Lexington County – maintains strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies, emergency services, and city, county, and state officials on issues related to the security of our schools.
Specific details about our safety and security protocols must remain confidential to maintain their effectiveness, but we can share information about the following measures used in the district. You can also hear some of this from Santana Sanguiliano, Lexington Two’s director of security and risk, who gave an overview at the September 19, 2024 monthly board meeting of the district’s safety and security measures. It’s worth your time to watch it. Click this link and pick up the start of the presentation at 1:00:27.
- School Resource Officers: SROs serve at each Lexington Two school, thanks to collaborative partnerships across several of our area law enforcement agencies, including Cayce Department of Public Safety, West Columbia Police Department, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Springdale Police Department, and Pine Ridge Police Department. They know our school safety plans, they know our schools, they assist with our practice drills, and they continuously share ways to improve. They are in touch regularly with district and school administrators to talk about school and community safety. These School Resource Officers are a direct line to law enforcement in any emergency.
- Personnel and training: Lexington Two has a director of security and risk, as well as district- and school-level safety teams, all of whom play a role in safety and emergency preparedness. District employees participate in annual training on a range of health and security topics. For the 2024-2025 school year, all staff will be trained on Active Attack Response and the I Love U Guys Standard Response Protocol.
- School safety plans: All schools have emergency plans to respond to a variety of possible emergencies, including fire, severe weather, bomb threats, and school intruders. Practice drills are conducted throughout the year, in conjunction with law enforcement and emergency agencies.
- Secure buildings: All doors to our schools and buildings remain locked. Entrances to our buildings are monitored on an ongoing basis, and the district uses an access control system that requires authorized badges and card readers to enter, with the ability to adjust access as needed. The district also uses lockdown buttons and an electronic emergency alert system that can be activated from anywhere in the building, from the classroom to the cafeteria and all areas in between.
- Raptor Alert: Lexington Two school personnel have the Raptor Alert System, a silent alert system that employees can access through electronic devices in their schools, including their cell phones. Raptor Alerts has a number of options for users, depending on the type of situation – a single student in medical distress, for example, or a potentially larger incident. Every school has an SRO, so users can directly alert the SRO, for example, alert a school administrator, alert staff on your hall, or alert the whole school. Raptor Alerts collaborates with the I Love U Guys Safety Protocols, used by Lexington Two and schools nationwide, allowing the district to use the Standard Response Protocol – Secure, Hold, or Lockdown, for example – in any type of emergency, communicated through a number of avenues throughout the school.
- Behavioral Threat Assessment Management: South Carolina law requires that each school in the state identifies key staff to serve on a threat assessment team. South Carolina Safe Schools, in collaboration with a number of offices and other sources, has created Behavioral Threat Assessment Management (BTAM) that is required for use in all schools. In Lexington Two, that means our schools have multidisciplinary threat assessment teams that focus on violence prevention and resolution, increasing access to counseling services and supports, and decreasing long-term suspensions and alternative placements. Use of the BTAM comes when a student of any age makes a concerning comment or has a concerning behavior, and then a threat assessment team goes to work to distinguish between the student making a threat and posing a threat. The assessment team uses a screening questionnaire to talk with the student, gather information and determine possible steps, if any. Along the way, team members will reach out to the family, and seeking to help the student find a more positive path. Click this link to read more about BTAM.
- Linewize Alerts: New to the district in 2024-2025, Linewize is a system that gives real-time alerts real-time alerts on our district-issued devices. If a student mentions something concerning – about self-harm, for example, or a threat – or has concerning content searches on a district device, school and district administrators are immediately alerted any day of the week, any time of the day or night, before any potential emergency occurs.
- Security cameras: Lexington Two uses security cameras on all campuses district-wide as well as on school buses.
- Upgraded radios: For the 2024-2025 school year, Lexington Two will upgrade its radio communications system district-wide, to ensure efficient and reliable communications and boost safety.
- Electronic visitor management system: A visitor check-in and check-out electronic management system is located at front entrances in our schools and offices to help ensure that no unauthorized person enters (read more about it by clicking here). This system runs an automated check on each visitor against a list of registered sex offenders (a link to the SC Sex Offender Registry can be found on our district website). Visitors and volunteers are required to show identification upon entry and must wear the system-generated name badge at all times while on school grounds or at school-related events. Read Board Policy KI and Administrative Rule KI-R for other important requirements for visitors by clicking here.
- Event security: Lexington Two uses security screenings and a clear bag rule for all events at our high school stadiums and arenas, as well as at board meetings and large public events. Get specific information about metal detector use, as well as bag restrictions, by clicking here. Additional staff and law enforcement officers are present at these events as an additional layer of security for our students, families, staff, and community.
TIP LINES
- Safety: We tell our students: Be aware of people and your surroundings, and if you see something concerning or suspicious, say something. This helps to ensure that an issue can be addressed quickly and appropriately. Lexington Two also has a district-wide tip line for students, parents, and staff to report threats, crimes, weapons, and other safety concerns. Call or text (803) 363-5172 or email [email protected]. In addition, the district also uses BARK, an online system that monitors content, detects potential threats, and activates appropriate response protocols.
- Mental Health: Lexington Two emphasizes the importance of students’ well-being, with supports that include school social workers and psychologists. Many of our employees are required to take annual training that addresses student mental health issues, including suicide. Lifeline is a suicide prevention resource:
Three digit dialing 988
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
COMMUNICATIONS
As a point of information, in the event of security or emergency events, Lexington Two follows the I Love U Guys standard response protocols, used by many schools nationwide. You can find information about these protocols by clicking here.
Unfortunately, rumors that include inaccurate information can spread through social media as safety incidents are unfolding, whether it’s a bus accident, severe weather, school threat, or another matter. These kinds of rumors can cause undue stress to students, families, and employees.
Lexington Two’s goal is communicating accurate information as quickly as it’s available. Please know that we will reach out to staff and families in one or more ways, to include email, text, phone, district and school social media, websites and, depending on the situation, traditional media. Lexington Two families and staff should ensure that contact information is up to date and correct in their PowerSchool account.