Beyond Barricades: Why K-12 Schools Must Prioritize Access Control Over “Quick Fixes”
In recent years, many schools have faced the temptation of installing barricade devices — floor bolts, sleeves, wedges — to fortify classroom doors. The problem? According to the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), these devices can actually undermine safety. They may restrict emergency egress, impede first-responder access, and violate fire/egress/accessibility codes.
Instead, the emphasis must shift to effective door access control systems that enable:
Secure locking from inside while preserving immediate egress.
Authorized access from the corridor or by responders.
Real-time monitoring and integrated lockdown capability.
As PASS and other school safety experts emphasize, a layered, code-compliant approach to security is the only way to protect students and staff.
The Role of Access Control in School Safety
1. Protecting perimeter & interior access
While exterior doors often receive the most attention, interior doors (classrooms, labs, staff rooms) present critical risk. According to education-sector security resources, expanding access control to include interior and classroom doors enables schools to apply targeted lockdown procedures, strengthen key management, and minimize the need for costly re-keying.
2. Moving from barricades to code-compliance
PASS’s “Lock, Don’t Block” message is clear: barricades that block door openings may create greater hazards than they solve. They emphasise installing code-compliant locks that are lockable from inside, maintain free egress, and allow authorised access from the outside.
3. Why schools need more than a lock
Access control systems deliver real-time data, user control, scheduling and lockdown capabilities. Integrating electronic locks on classroom doors with a centralized access control system enables schools to initiate rapid, coordinated lockdowns in just seconds, while real-time monitoring verifies that every door is properly shut, secured, and locked.
How DSX Door Access Controls Support Educational Environments
At the technology core, the DSX access control platform offers features especially suited for K-12 schools and districts. Some highlights:
Scalable and modular hardware: DSX controllers are designed to support everything from single-door deployments to large, multi-site districts.
Advanced software features: Support for mobile credentials, lockdown commands, alarm notifications, schedule/time-zone controls and more.
Rapid lockdown and special-application readiness: Features like “Emergency Lockdown” and mobile command capability turn access control into a key layer of active response.
Long-term investment protection: DSX emphasizes backward compatibility, no forced recurring licensing fees, and scalable growth without replacing hardware.
For schools, this means: immediate lock-down capability, detailed door-status visibility, centralized management of who has access to which doors and when, and a system that can evolve as needs change.
Best Practices for Implementation in School Settings
Here are actionable steps school facility managers, safety directors and IT/security teams can follow:
🔍 Audit your current door access posture
Map all exterior and interior doors.
Identify which doors currently have simple locks, which have electronic locks, and which have no access-control capability.
Review any existing barricade devices and evaluate whether they comply with PASS guidance.
🛠 Specify access control hardware that meets K-12 needs
Choose locks and readers that support credentialed access (cards, mobile credentials) rather than just key-based systems.
Ensure classroom doors have inside locking capability, immediate egress, and outside emergency access — avoiding unauthorized lock-outs.
Select a control system (like DSX) that integrates with your surveillance, alarm, intercom and emergency-notification systems.
🎯 Develop policy and procedure aligned with hardware
Define access roles: Which staff/visitors can access which doors and when?
Set schedules (e.g., classrooms locked after hours except when scheduled).
Train staff and substitute teachers in the use of access control, not just classroom lockdown drills.
Eliminate reliance on “stick-a-bolt” barricade thinking; emphasise smart locks + monitoring + response.
📊 Monitor and assess system health
Use your system’s reporting features to check door events: open/close history, failed access attempts, forced-entry alarms.
Conduct regular drills that test lockdown from classroom doors via the access control system.
Consider managed-services support (maintenance, updates, monitoring) to ensure the system remains reliable over time.
Final Thought
The safety of students and staff in K-12 schools cannot depend on ad-hoc solutions that compromise egress or responder access. As PASS emphasises, “Lock, Don’t Block” is not just a slogan — it’s a foundational principle of modern school door security. A well-designed access control system — scalable, monitored, and integrated — is an essential layer of that protection.
With solutions like DSX door access controls and the expertise of Communication Company, schools can move away from reactive barricade fixes and toward a proactive, code-compliant, future-ready security posture. Because when it comes to school safety, every door, every reader, every credential matters.
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