A Facilities Director's Checklist for America's Safe Schools Week

Why This Checklist Exists

Safe Schools Week brings a lot of moving pieces at once. School security doors, egress reviews, drill schedules, hardware checks, and law enforcement calls all seem to land on your desk in the same few weeks. If you read our last post on Won-Door and how compartmentalization works during a lockdown, you already know the planning moment we're talking about.

This post is the practical follow-up: instead of another explanation of why school security planning matters, here's the actual checklist. Five tasks, in order, that you or your team can work through with confidence.

Safe Schools Week Facilities Checklist

• Review egress routes and code compliance
• Evaluate lockdown drill readiness and documentation
• Meet with local law enforcement and update emergency response plans
• Audit door hardware, access control systems, and fire-rated openings
• Assign corrective actions and completion deadlines

The sections below provide additional guidance for each item on this checklist.

Reviewing Egress Compliance

A school egress compliance review starts with confirming that every student and staff member could leave the building right now if they needed to. Walk every exit path, checking exterior doors and interior doors alike, and confirm they swing in the direction of travel, panic hardware operates smoothly, and exit signage is lit and visible from every angle.

Check that nothing blocks the path. Furniture, storage carts, and propped doors are common problems that build up over a school year without anyone noticing. Confirm door closers actually close the door fully, and that your main school entrance doors aren't quietly propped for convenience. A door that drifts shut halfway defeats the purpose of a fire-rated assembly.

This is also a good time to walk your building alongside your local fire marshal if you haven't already. NFPA 101 and your local fire code set the baseline, but a walkthrough catches the small things a checklist alone misses. Document what you find, so you have a record for your administrators and your board.

Timing Lockdown Drills

Drill frequency is a balancing act. Run too few and your staff and students freeze when it matters. Run too many, and you disrupt instruction, or worse, drills start to feel routine instead of serious. Most states set a minimum number of lockdown drills per year. Treat that number as a floor, not a target.

Think about timing as much as frequency. A drill during a class change tests something different than a drill mid-lesson. Vary it. Consider running at least one lockdown drill without advance staff notice, so you can honestly assess readiness rather than rehearsed performance.

Document every drill: date, time, duration, and any gaps you noticed. That record protects you if a board member or parent asks how prepared your school actually is, and it gives you a clear list of what to fix before the next one.

Coordinating with Local Law Enforcement

Local law enforcement should know your building before they ever need to respond to it. If it's been a while since your last walkthrough, Safe Schools Week is a natural time to schedule one.

Share current floor plans and confirm officers know where compartmentalized zones, secured entry points, and emergency responder key access are located. If your building uses a Knox Box® or other emergency responder rapid-entry system, confirm the key inventory inside is current.

Officers need to know how your staff will reach them, and your staff needs to know what to expect when officers arrive. Treat this as a working relationship you maintain every year, not a box to check once and forget. A five-minute conversation now saves confusion during an actual emergency.

Auditing Existing Door and Access Hardware

This is the task most facilities directors put off, because it means checking every door instead of the obvious ones. Walk your exterior doors first, starting with primary entry points. Confirm access control readers work, door hold-opens release on schedule, and every lock and latch engages fully rather than catching only some of the time.

Then move inside to your interior doors. Check hinges for wear and test that fire doors close and latch every time. Well-maintained hardware also resists forced entry and helps prevent unauthorized access, which matters as much as fire performance.

If your building uses a compartmentalization system like Won-Door, make sure it's on this list too. Confirm it's being serviced on schedule and that staff who need to operate it during a lockdown still know how. See how one school put this to work.

An honest audit means writing down what's failing, alongside what's working. A list of five problems is more useful heading into Safe Schools Week than a clean report that isn't accurate.

Put This Checklist Into Action

A checklist only helps if it turns into action. Take what you've found in each section above and put it on a real timeline. Assign an owner to each task, whether that's you, a member of your team, or an outside partner. Set due dates before Safe Schools Week starts.

For a broader framework alongside this checklist, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools publishes free, nationally recognized K-12 security guidelines and a matching checklist tool.

If you'd like a second set of eyes on the hardware and compliance side of this list, Door Services Corporation is happy to walk through it with you. 

Frequently Asked Questions

When should facilities directors start planning for Safe Schools Week? 
Before the week starts, not during it. The five tasks in this checklist, egress review, drill timing, law enforcement coordination, and a hardware audit, take real time to work through and assign, so setting due dates ahead of Safe Schools Week gives you room to actually finish them.

What does a school egress compliance review actually involve? 
Walking every exit path to confirm doors swing in the direction of travel, panic hardware works smoothly, and exit signage is lit and visible. It also means checking that nothing blocks the path, that door closers fully close doors, and that main entrance doors aren't propped. NFPA 101 and your local fire code set the baseline, and a walkthrough with your local fire marshal catches what a checklist alone can miss.

How often should schools run lockdown drills? 
Most states set a minimum number of lockdown drills per year, and that number should be treated as a floor rather than a target. Timing matters as much as frequency: varying whether drills happen during a class change or mid-lesson, and running at least one without advance staff notice, gives a more honest read on readiness.

What should schools cover when coordinating with local law enforcement for Safe Schools Week? 
Share current floor plans and confirm officers know where compartmentalized zones, secured entry points, and emergency responder key access are located. If the building uses a Knox Box or similar rapid-entry system, confirm the key inventory is current. It also means agreeing on a communication plan, so staff and responding officers both know what to expect.

What should a door and access hardware audit check for? 
Start with exterior doors and primary entry points, confirming access control readers, door hold-opens, and locks and latches all engage fully. Then move inside to check hinges for wear and confirm fire doors close and latch every time. If the building uses a compartmentalization system like Won-Door, that should be on the audit list too, confirmed as serviced on schedule with staff who know how to operate it during a lockdown.