Safety & Security Frequently Asked Questions

Keeping students safe is something we do together—families, students, educators, and community partners working side by side. Jeffco leads with trained staff, clear protocols and ongoing improvements; your partnership helps those efforts reach every classroom, hallway and event. We invite you to join us in simple, everyday actions that make our schools even safer, more supportive and more responsive. When each of us does our part, our students feel seen, protected and ready to learn.

• Report concerns right away. If you or your student see or hear something — say something. Use Safe2Tell at 1-877-542-7233 (1-877-542-SAFE), the Safe2Tell app, or contact the school. For urgent threats, call 911.
• Coach your student to speak up. Encourage reporting of bullying, threats, weapons or concerning posts—not forwarding rumors.
• Follow the school’s visitor process. Bring your ID, check in at the main office, wear your visitor badge and go only where you’re approved.
• Don’t hold doors open. To keep secure entries working, don’t “tailgate” or prop doors. Everyone should enter through the main entrance.
• Stay alert on campus. If you notice a propped door, someone without a badge, or anything unsafe, tell school staff immediately.
• Keep contacts current. Update your phone, email, emergency contacts and student health info so the school can reach you quickly. Also make sure anyone who could pick up your student in an emergency is listed on your student’s Infinite Campus page. This can include neighbors, friends or other family members. Have your student memorize your phone number so they can reach you in the event they are without their phone. Know the routines. Review arrival/dismissal patterns and reunification steps.
• Model positive digital behavior. Don’t post unverified information about incidents; share official school updates instead.
• Secure items at home. Safely store firearms, medications, vaping devices and other hazards; talk about why secure storage matters.
• Support a caring climate. Encourage kindness, inclusion and conflict resolution—connected students report concerns.
• Get involved. Attend safety briefings, PTA/PTO or School Accountability meetings; volunteer where extra adult presence is requested.

Student and staff safety is our highest priority across all Jeffco schools—district-managed and charter alike. While day-to-day School Resource Officer (SRO) assignments are set through agreements with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) and our local municipal police departments, we coordinate closely with law enforcement partners so every school receives consistent support and rapid emergency response. In any urgent situation, schools call 911 and both the district’s R-1 Safety & Security team and the closest available officer—whether an SRO or a patrol officer—respond.

Beyond law-enforcement collaboration, we are strengthening layered safety supports for all schools, including charters:

• Increased R-1 patrol coverage across campuses.
• Enhanced staff training in threat assessment and emergency procedures.
• Ongoing partnership with school leaders to tailor safety practices to each campus.

To further formalize support for charters, the district is working with municipalities to revise the Intergovernmental agreements in place.

Jeffco Public Schools is piloting a firearm-detection canine program at Evergreen High School in partnership with a certified K-9 provider. A trained handler and canine are stationed near the main entrance during busy arrival and re-entry times to add a visible layer of safety while maintaining a welcoming school environment. The handler wears identifiable safety gear and a body camera and is not armed.

The canine is trained to detect firearms and gunpowder residue (GSR) and will scan the flow of students and visitors entering the building to help deter weapons and identify potential threats before harm occurs.

Because the canine detects gunpowder residue, it may alert on individuals who have recently been hunting or sport shooting, even if they are not carrying a weapon. An alert does not automatically mean someone has a weapon or poses a threat.

1. Trained R-1 Security staff conduct a brief, private handheld-wand screening to check for prohibited items.
2. The screening is non-invasive and typically takes less than a minute. (Wands can pick up common items like Chromebooks or keys.)
3. If nothing concerning is found, the person continues on as usual.
4. If something requires attention, school and safety staff respond respectfully and follow standard safety protocols.

If data show alerts are not reliable—or if the program disrupts learning—we will reassess the long-term viability of this safety measure. This pilot is one part of Jeffco’s layered safety approach designed to support safe, welcoming, and supportive schools.
 

School Resource Officers

Thirty-five School Resource Officers play a vital role in Jeffco schools. They serve as informal mentors and counselors, provide classroom instruction when invited, and, when necessary, perform law-enforcement duties. SROs are specially trained, sworn law-enforcement officers employed by local agencies.

Their additional training typically includes adolescent development, de-escalation and conflict resolution, trauma-informed practices, school law and student privacy (e.g., FERPA), behavioral threat assessment, crisis intervention, cultural responsiveness and implicit-bias awareness, restorative approaches, and coordination with school mental-health teams.

For more than two decades, Jeffco’s partner law-enforcement agencies fully funded the SRO program. Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, Jeffco adopted a 50/50 cost-sharing model with those agencies due to municipal budget pressures—a structure that is common locally and nationally.

During their shifts, SROs’ primary responsibility is to visit and patrol schools; however, as employees of local law enforcement agencies, they may occasionally be called away to support off-campus community policing needs.

R-1 Armed Patrol Officers

R-1 Armed Patrol Officer is an armed safety professional employed by Jeffco Public Schools. Patrol Officers are first to respond when anyone on Jeffco school property needs safety assistance. Trained at the same level and standards as POST certified officers, Jeffco’s R-1 patrol officers proactively and responsively patrol campuses and facilities to help keep students, staff, and visitors safe and to protect buildings and property.

The officer acts as a first responder to school incidents and works closely with building administrators as well as law-enforcement and fire partners. Trained in verbal de-escalation and best practices, the officer handles situations ranging from minor policy issues to rare, life-threatening emergencies.

The position operates on rotating schedules to provide seven-day coverage, including evenings, weekends and holidays, and the officer may be called in on short notice for emergencies, special events, or to cover shifts.

Two schools currently have full-time, on-site R-1 Officers in place–Evergreen High School and McLain.  

Campus Supervisors

Campus Supervisors are unarmed and assist school administration in maintaining a positive and safe school environment. Jeffco’s 98 member Campus Supervisor team monitors school buildings, grounds, and the immediate surrounding area for safety and security issues. Additionally, they: 

• Coordinate safety and security efforts with district personnel, public safety service providers and the community 
• Enforce school and district rules 
• Monitor student behavior outside of the classroom and identify and implement intervention strategies while maintaining confidentiality in accordance with district policies.

Campus Supervisors maintain preparedness for safety and security emergencies at all times. They are highly trained in de-escalation strategies, first aid/CPR, camera intel and analytics, drug and alcohol recognition, searches, and many other important aspects to safety. They assist school and district personnel in carrying out emergency response protocols (ex. HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATION, SHELTER).

In addition, Campus Supervisors support after school programs and, at times, co-curricular events. All Jeffco high schools have a Campus Supervisor on-site, as do more than half of Jeffco’s middle schools. 

 Our law enforcement partners cover all Jeffco schools articulation areas:

• Arvada Police Department
  • Arvada Area
  • Arvada West Area
  • Pomona Area
  • Ralston Valley Area
• Edgewater Police Department
  • Jefferson Area
• Golden Police Department
  • Golden Area
• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
  • Arvada West Area
  • Chatfield Area
  • Columbine Area
  • Conifer Area
  • Dakota Ridge Area
  • Evergreen Area
• Lakeside Police Department
• Lakewood Police Department
  • Alameda Area
  • Bear Creek Area
  • Green Mountain Area
  • Lakewood Area
• Mountain View Police Department
• Westminster Police Department
  • Standley Lake Area
• Wheat Ridge Police Department
  • Wheat Ridge Area

For more than two decades, Jeffco’s partner law-enforcement agencies fully funded the SRO program. Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, Jeffco adopted a 50/50 cost-sharing model with those agencies due to municipal budget pressures—a structure that is common locally and nationally. You can find a copy of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA)  between the school district and each law enforcement partner in BoardDocs. 

Ensuring the safety and security of our schools is of utmost importance for parents, teachers, and students alike in Jeffco. As part of Jeffco Builds, the 2018 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funded important safety upgrades in schools across the district through voter-approved bonds.

This initiative enhanced school building security features, including secure entries, cameras, and classroom door locks, ensuring a high standard across the district.

• Secure entries
  • Vestibules serve as a single access point to schools, meaning that individuals can check-in, and entrance is tracked through two sets of doors
  • Laminated glass to exterior doors and windows for increased security
  • This controls access and communication, meaning people can conduct business, such as delivering packages without entering the schools
• Interior door locks in classrooms
  • Teachers can stay in the safety of the classrooms and lock their doors from inside
• Camera updates and additions
  • Some schools did not have many cameras, so more were added, while others needed upgrades. Our schools have ongoing needs for additional security camera updates and additions beyond what the 2018 bond could afford.
• Notification systems for lockdowns
  • It is possible to secure buildings from the office or the security dispatch center
• Additional staff for support including:
  • Increased Campus Security at many of our middle schools. Campus Security personnel are the front-line employees for our schools. They build positive relationships with students, staff and community members. Our Campus Security team provides a proactive presence, maintains situational awareness, and readily prepares for emergencies small and large.
  • Additional R1 patrol units will feature a 5-person team for after-school activities, covering school extracurricular activities. The Patrol team responds to all school and district properties and partners with our law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of our district.
• New security uniforms
• Mandatory photo IDs for adults and working to implement IDs for students

Jeffco has walk-through metal detectors that every student goes through at Long View and Connections Learning Center. We have walk-through metal detectors specifically at these two sites, because these are the sites where students who have gun-related charges attend school. An armed officer is also present at each of these sites in the morning when students arrive and walk through the metal detectors.  These campuses are also closed, which means students should not be coming and going.

Jeffco does not have metal detectors in any of its traditional schools. Wands are something that are utilized infrequently, but as necessary, on a situational basis across the district. Very few schools in Colorado have metal detectors. One front range school district implemented a metal detector program and has since decommissioned the program. 

Jeffco does not have private security at any of its schools. All safety personnel are trained campus supervisors, R1 Officers or law enforcement officers who have completed an SRO training program. 

Reasons often cited for not hiring private security in K-12 schools include: 

• Training for private security varies widely by state and vendor, with no universally enforced school-specific standards. By contrast, many states mandate SRO training and curricula (e.g., Colorado requires annual SRO training). Private security lacks comparable, uniform requirements and external accountability.
• Effective school safety relies on a triad of law enforcement, mentoring and teaching—a model built for sworn school resource officers (SROs), not contract guards. Private security is not designed or governed to do school-climate work, which can erode prevention and relationships.
• Private security cannot directly access criminal justice information systems and typically must operate through an agency’s controls. That limits intel-sharing and unified command with law enforcement during threats or active incidents.
• Armed guards introduce risks of negligent discharge, mistaken identity, and escalation without the rigorous selection, continuous training, and policy infrastructure that govern sworn officers.

The Colorado Office of School Safety provided the following resources regarding safety research:

• American Journal of Orthopsychiatry: Our Schools Are Safe: Challenging the Misperception That Schools Are Dangerous Places
• Campus Safety Magazine: 18 Tips for Using Metal Detectors Effectively
• National Association of School Psychologists: School Security Measures and Their Impact on Students

Jeffco prioritizes a robust visitor management system to include secure vestibules which enable schools to fully control visitor access to the building via push button and visual technology. 2018 capital bond investments ensured 100% of Jeffco schools now have secure vestibules.

About 33% of our schools use the Raptor visitor management software, which provides schools with access to the sex offender database and printed visitor badges to provide visual indication that all visitors belong in the building. 

2025-26 School Year Districtwide Visitor, Volunteer and Community Partner System Pilot

Jeffco’s Department of School Safety, in partnership with Family & Community Partnerships and Information Technology, is piloting an automated visitor and volunteer management system in specific schools with the goal of districtwide roll out pending pilot results.

Seven schools are piloting Relatrix—ezVisitor (visitor management) and ezVolunteer (volunteer management)—including Sex Offender Registry screening and National Criminal Background Checks:

• Jeffco Open School (PK–12) (currently uses Raptor)
• Kendallvue Elementary
• Columbine Hills Elementary (currently uses Raptor)
• Secrest Elementary
• Rose Stein Elementary
• Little Elementary
• Deane Elementary

How the Relatrix visitor and volunteer management system works:

• School staff scan or enter a visitor/volunteer’s ID.
• Volunteers would be required to go through a background check based on the level of interaction with students their volunteer role requires.
• The system screens for defined red flags (e.g., registered sex offenders) and records check-in/out.
• A single, district-funded platform replaces school-by-school purchases, eliminating inequities created by budget differences.
• Today, about 67% of Jeffco schools do not use such a system due to cost; this project closes that gap.

To ensure a safe and prepared school environment, Jeffco Public Schools has implemented best-practice training programs for both staff and students in crisis prevention and emergency response/management. These programs include the Standard Response Protocol,  regularly scheduled drills to build confidence and reinforce safety protocols, and the establishment of School Response Teams (SRT).

Through realistic exercises and specialized training partnerships—such as those with the Frank DeAngelis Training Center—Jeffco equips its school community and local law enforcement agencies with the knowledge and practical skills needed to respond effectively to school-based emergencies. This layered approach reflects the district’s commitment to creating safe, supportive learning environments through preparation, collaboration, and ongoing education. 

Emergency Plan  

Jeffco’s Emergency Plan covers all five phases of preparedness (Response, Recovery, Prevention, Mitigation and Preparedness) for both educational sites and school support sites. The plan is reviewed and revised as needed. Changes and revisions are made based on best practice and/or shifts in protocols for school environments. 

Training and Exercises 

Jeffco prepares staff, students, district employees and community partners for emergencies in four ways: mandatory training, emergency training, drills and exercises. 

Emergency Trainings 

Our emergency training follows national best practices and prepares students and staff to respond effectively in a crisis. Participants learn the nature of common emergencies, practice life-safety skills to respond and survive, discuss contingencies, and—when appropriate—walk through response actions. Each summer, all school-based administrators, community superintendents, secretaries, facility managers/staff, and paraprofessionals complete mandatory safety training.

Emergency Drills 

Regular drills practice the life-safety skills taught in emergency training and build positive “muscle memory” in a safe, controlled environment—without real-world stressors (e.g., sights/sounds of an emergency or limited resources). Per Colorado Senate Bill 08-181, every school conducts one lockdown drill each fall and one additional drill each spring (e.g., evacuation or shelter).

Emergency Exercises 

We use replicated, simulated emergencies—both tabletop and full-scale exercises—to test employees’ skills, knowledge and teamwork. In tabletop exercises, emergency teams meet to work through a realistic scenario, discuss how they would protect, respond, and recover, and review prevention and mitigation tactics.

For example, Jeffco’s Department of School Safety runs a week-long academy for all school administrators, guiding them through tabletop scenarios based on real incidents from the prior school year.

Full-scale exercises—typically held every two years—simulate real conditions so participants can apply their skills under realistic stress. For safety, these exercises are closed to the public, and all participants receive a clear briefing on scope and parameters. We conduct full-scale exercises on non-school days, and students participate only with prior written parental permission.

Jeffco’s former Martensen Elementary School in Wheat Ridge is home to the Frank DeAngelis Training Center for School and Community Safety. This one-of-a-kind facility trains law enforcement, school security, and many other agencies including the FBI and Navy Seals, on how to respond to school safety incidents.

Through the district’s collaborative partnership with the DeAngelis Center, our internal R1 Patrol and security teams have priority access to the facility where Jeffco administrators, campus security and others gain the skills to support school safety. The R1 patrol division participates in 25-30 training sessions per year. Every law enforcement agency in Jeffco (Lakewood, Golden, Westminster, JEFFCO Sheriff, Wheat Ridge, Edgewater, and Arvada) takes part in utilizing the center for ongoing school safety training throughout the year.

We use a timely, multi-message approach so you receive important information quickly, followed by updates as facts are confirmed. Developed with Jeffco families and staff, this approach reflects feedback that families have shared to receive prompt notices with what we know now rather than a single, delayed message. 

Your child’s school coordinates with the Department of School Safety and Communication Services to plan and send updates, sharing verified information often confirmed with law-enforcement partners. We notify you through School Messenger—phone calls, text messages, and emails—using the contact information and language preferences you set in Infinite Campus, so please keep those details current. 

Communication typically unfolds in three steps: an initial alert with essential facts and a time for the next update; follow-up messages with new, verified details about what happened, what is being done, and what you should do; and a closure message confirming status and any next steps.

We notify staff first so they can support students, then families immediately after; if details are still developing, we say so and commit to the next update time. This rhythm—quick alert, steady updates, clear closure—keeps you informed without delay while we continue to confirm details.