Schools Need An Election Year QRP

by Bobby Brasher
Most election days are filled with excitement and celebration as we exercise our right to vote for the next president of the United States. The right to vote is guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States. Citizens of the United States are allowed free expression and free will to cast their vote for the individual they wish to lead our country as the President for a four-year term.

​This election season is much different than any other in our history. Over the course of the last several months, we have seen racial unrest, civil unrest, protests and riots. Various groups have emerged as a result of these unrests - many which openly call for reformist change in our government, free capital market, and for an entire overhaul to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. 
 
Peaceful protests have been hijacked by anarchists and different groups who, at their core and unabashedly, want to fundamentally change the way our country is governed, the core values we accept, and our methods of worship. These groups include Aryan Brotherhood, Antifa, and Boogaloo militia groups. They are known to use social media as their go-to method of communication.
 
No school is immune from a protest. Just one Facebook alert or one Twitter post can trigger a protest at a school in a matter of minutes. In the increase of recent protests, many have started as peaceful and then quickly turned violent by anything from brick throwing, arson, physical altercations, and even gunfire.
 
This “cancel cultural” movement has created the necessity for a complete new approach to reinforcing and defending our schools.
 
School leaders and directors of safety must formulate and implement a plan that will protect their schools during this election season, given the heightened unrest that will likely not only continue, but worsen as the election approaches.  Waiting until the week before the election is ill-advised. This QRP, or Quick Reaction Plan, should be organized and implemented now.  
 
The heart of QRP must be a comprehensive strategy for the following:

• Open dialogue and intelligence collaboration with law enforcement (including table top exercise)
• Staff Training
• Emergency Notification
• School lock-down protocol
• Reinforced security posture 
• Ready response from law enforcement strategy     

​Lastly, a robust technology footprint is a great tool to mitigate civil lawsuits and capture valuable evidence during a protest or unlawful incident.

For more information, please contact Bobby Brasher today.

Bobby Brasher is the Director of Security for The Brookhill School in Bullard, Texas, and a Senior Consultant with the GLOBAL School Consulting Group.